Evergreen
by Tanya Takaishi
Summary: After an akuma leaves them lost alone in the woods, Ladybug and Chat Noir find themselves with a bit of time to hash out some unspoken issues. Cuddling, words, wine, (eventually) an akuma, a reveal, and so, so many tree puns. So many.
1. Not in Paris Anymore

Too old to jump into a new fandom? Never. Love these dumb kids. I needed to get them alone for awhile to work out their shiz. Post Season 3. Fire cuddles, wine, and Plagg being a little shit. Should be about 5 chapters.

* * *

**Evergreen**

* * *

~.*~*~*.~

**Her**

~.*~*~*.~

He'd been hit.

Ladybug was sure of it.

So when the yellow light of the akuma's attack faded and Chat Noir's arm went lax around her back, she instinctively jerked out of his grip and flung out her yo-yo, spinning it between them.

His bright cat eyes blinked in surprise and his claws continued to sparkle high above his head with an activated cataclysm he had yet to use. For a split second they both stood there, waiting. And when nothing happened, Chat Noir let out a grunt of surprise before whipping around, ready to attack the akuma that had hit him in the back.

Instead his hand went limp by his side.

"Did she just make like a tree and leaf?"

A groan came up from the pit of Ladybug's stomach as she retracted her yo-yo.

"Sorry," Chat said, mouth stretched into a shit-eating grin. "You know I can't resist the classics."

Not even twenty minutes ago, they had arrived at the Eiffel Tower after the news had shown a woman with green skin dangling from the metal beams by a tangle of vines. Trees had sprung up around the base, growing so quickly that they were already half the size of the monument by the time they got there.

The akuma didn't even tell them her name.

She just waited, twisting in her swing of vines, mumbling some barely coherent monologue about land and her home and those terrible city-folk who had set up a giant inflatable cushion in case she fell.

"I'm gonna call her Treehugger," Chat had said, tail flicking in amusement.

Ladybug frowned. "How much do you want to bet she makes the trees hug us?"

"Aw, didn't know you were such a _sap_, bugaboo." He waggled his eyebrows at her, making his mask jump up and down on his forehead.

"I wish I had a squirt bottle right now."

The akuma didn't make a move until they had gone in for the obvious akumatized object: a bullhorn made of wood and flowers. Her first strike had wiped out an entire portion of the city and replaced it with trees, leaving the people hiding out in buildings wandering through foliage, completely exposed.

After nearly half of the city was gone and Ladybug had summoned a lucky charm of hedge-trimmers ("That's oddly straightforward," Chat had said. "Guess it's time to _cut_ to the chase?"), the akuma gave up on the city and aimed for her.

Just as Ladybug wondered if she'd turn into a tree, her ridiculous self-sacrificing partner had thrown himself around her, taking the blow.

Except he was fine and the akuma was gone.

Ladybug took a step forward, pushing Chat Noir's arm into the air so she didn't accidently brush by his sparkling cataclysm, and took in the view.

Beyond the roads and buildings adjacent to the Eiffel Tower there was nothing but green.

"I think the whole city made like a tree, Chat."

He stepped up beside her. "Where did everyone go?"

"Good question." She turned and picked her polka-dotted hedge-trimmers off the pavement and a cold wind blew from the forest, chilling the exposed skin on her cheeks. "I'm sure the akuma is out there somewhere. Keep your guard up."

"I never put it down." Chat Noir stretched his arms, bouncing his cataclysmic claw over his head way too carefree for her liking.

"Please don't cataclysm yourself."

His bottom lip jutted out, offended, and just as he opened his mouth to speak, Ladybug's earrings gave a beep.

"Great," she groaned. "We better find her and fast. Hold this, will you?"

She tucked the hedge trimmers into his belt and ignored the flood of pink that rushed beneath his mask. He didn't comment, though. Just looked away bashfully and searched the horizon to hunt for the akuma. She was glad to see him stay on task for once, but at the same time a pang slammed into her heart, stilling it for a moment.

Shooting out her yo-yo, she took off, swinging up the Eiffel tower, with Chat Noir catapulting on her heels.

She was breathless when they made it to the top.

Chat Noir leaned on his staff, one hand still hoisted carefully in the air. "I'm gonna go out a limb ("Ugh, seriously?") here and guess we aren't in Paris anymore, LB."

Everything was gone, the entire cityscape had been obliterated, leaving them in a valley of trees. Blue mountains, peaks dressed in snow, stretched tall in the distance and at their foot lay an array of vineyards, miles wide with no civilization in sight.

Chat Noir's ring beeped, causing him to wiggle his cataclysmic fingers in irritation.

"Where is she?" Ladybug murmured.

"I think Mademoiselle Treehugger gave us a one-way ticket to the boonies."

"That doesn't make any sense. She was just turning the city into a forest, not teleporting people. Plus, why would she get rid of us? Isn't the whole point to '_get their Miraculous!'_?" She said the last part in her best Hawkmoth voice, making Chat Noir grin like the Cheshire.

She poked his nose. "Not a word."

Still grinning, he shrugged. "Akumas aren't always the most obedient." He let out a snort. "Kinda wish I could see Hawky's smug face when they go rogue."

"Honestly, I'm sick of seeing his face," said Ladybug, eyes still scanning the horizon.

"Might be nice to see the top half. Maybe if we knew who he was, we could track him down." Chat Noir's sparkling claws seemed to dance through the air, itching to touch something. "He has been a lot less careful lately. Helps having a partner, I guess."

A sinking feeling spread through Ladybug's chest. There was something about the way his voice went low that got to her and she wondered whether it had something to do with Hawkmoth or her.

"I guess it's better he stops lurking in the shadows," she said. "I just want this over with."

Silence spread between the two of them as they hunted for the akuma. Another chime from their miraculous broke it.

"Well, we have the advantage of higher ground here, but I'm starting to think we need to take the offensive before we transform back," said Chat Noir.

Ladybug gave a nod and he took off without another word, scrambling down the metal with all the agility of his namesake.

She flung her yo-yo into a tree and searched.

About ten minutes later, she heard rustling through the leaves and whipped around to see Chat Noir emerge from the greenery.

"Anything?" she asked.

He shook his head, cat ears drooping and cataclysm still sparkling uselessly on his fingers. "Nothing."

"Your hand is making me nervous," Ladybug said, nodding her head toward the power radiating by his side.

"Oh. Guess it's gonna just run out in a minute anyway." With absurd theatrics, he pressed a single claw against a rotten log and it crumpled to dust. His ring beeped again. "I'm gonna find somewhere to transform and refuel."

"I don't get it," Ladybug said while he dodged behind a bush. Her earrings gave a beep and she slipped behind a tree, eyes darting to make sure the akuma wasn't about to pop up while she was exposed. "It's too quiet. Shouldn't the akuma have followed us here?"

"Beats me," he called back. There was a short lull before he let out a giddy chuckle. "I'm stumped."

Ladybug let out a snort of appreciation.

"Oh, like that one?" Chat Noir sounded absolutely beside himself. "Is the bug finally _branch_ing out?"

"Stop while you're ahead, Kitty."

She could hear his magic release and then Plagg's distinct voice chimed in, mouth already full of cheese.

"Ah, finally! A vacation!"

"That was my only piece of camembert, Plagg," said the boy that was Chat Noir just as Ladybug's transformation fell away.

"This is a disaster!" shrieked the cat kwami, flying out into Marinette's peripheral vision. He buzzed into her arms, practically barrelling over Tikki. "Please tell me you have more sense than that blonde airhead, Ma-URP!"

"Plagg, stop being ridiculous," Tikki snapped.

"This is an emergency!"

"I have a sleeve of cookies in my bag," said Marinette, pulling them out. She handed them each one.

Plagg looked ready to weep, but his voice came out snark anyway. "I suppose I have to thank your ridiculous sweet tooth for that, Sugarcube. Oh well, better than nothing." He stretched out his little arms and accepted, darting back out of her vision to where Chat Noir was waiting.

"You could say thank you," said Chat Noir.

"For this disgusting stuff?"

"At least your boy has some manners," Tikki chirped, licking icing from her little mouth.

Marinette smiled at their banter, but it immediately faded. "I'm worried about what's happening in Paris," she said. "If the akuma really transported us somewhere, she could be turning the entire city into a forest right now."

"Maybe she did already," Chat Noir mused. "Maybe we got frozen in time and this is the future."

"There's no mountains in Paris."

"Waaay into the future."

"If we went that far the Eiffel Tower would've disintegrated."

"You've got me, LB." He gave a long sigh. "So, now what?"

Marinette looked over her sleeve of cookies. "Now we only get a few chances to get this right."

She heard Chat Noir's soft chuckle and felt a little spark of warmth flutter through her chest.

"You always know just what to say."

"Oh Chat," Marinette said with a chuckle of her own. "If only you knew me."

~.*~*~*.~

**Him**

~.*~*~*.~

Those words echoed in his skull for hours.

Because they were stuck in the middle of nowhere for hours. With no akuma in sight.

"It's getting dark," Ladybug groaned beside him. "My parents are going to kill me."

The treetops burned with the sun, but everything beneath their canopy was coated with dusk. Crickets had begun to chirp and once in a while they could hear the soft call of an owl.

They were in costume again. After they'd tried their cell phones (no service) they had transformed back, but their weapons were just as useless. Apparently magic technology was just as reliant on good ol' fashion civilization as smartphones.

The two had stopped swinging and catapulting some time ago, when it was clear they were wasting energy. At least he was. Chat Noir swore he could feel the cheese disappearing from Plagg's stomach.

Ladybug seemed magnificent as always, swinging nearly effortlessly from tree to tree, but the nature of his catapults meant he mostly had to keep dodging them. When his shoulder slammed into a trunk for the seventh time ("ow, my lucky number!") she suggested they take the rest of their hike on foot.

"I'll probably be grounded for a month. At least," Chat Noir said, already mourning the loss of friends and what little privileges he was allowed. "How long do you think we can hold our transformations without using our powers?"

"What's our record for patrol?"

"Three hours maybe?"

Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo and opened it to check the clock. "Broke that already."

Wind whipped through the trees, bitter cold and the only other sound Chat Noir could hear besides snapping branches and wildlife was Ladybug's stomach.

"Ugh," she moaned. "I picked the wrong day to skip breakfast."

"Cookies?"

"They're for the kwamis. We need to reserve as much as possible so we don't get caught out of costume."

Guilt settled in his empty gut. "I'm sorry. I was running between pho—activities today. I think I left my bag with the camembert at one. Not that you'd want stinky cheese."

"I might even take the stinky cheese right now," Ladybug moaned, then catching the way his cat ears drooped she gave him a nudge in the side with her elbow. "It's okay, Kitty-cat."

"I should've been more prepared."

"I should've woken up on time for once and eaten breakfast."

He gave her a pained smile. "Hunger does not look good on you, bugaboo."

"Sympathy looks worse on you," she said, flicking his ear.

His smile went more genuine until she shivered. "You cold?"

"Only where the suit isn't." She rubbed her nose and sniffled. "I'm going to start snotting in a minute. Super attractive."

Chat Noir bit his tongue so he wouldn't comment. "If I detransformed I could give you my jacket," he teased instead.

Her eyes slid sideways, taking him in, and for a second his heart stopped.

"You have one tiny enough for my nose?" she asked.

A grin spread across his lips. "With little sleeves for each of your nostrils." His cold cheeks warmed when she laughed and his smile grew bigger. "So as not to block the flow."

Her smile grew as wide as his own. "For the air or the boogers?"

They both broke into childish giggles that echoed in the silence of the forest. When it finally drew to a stop, Chat Noir's tail flicked behind him, still amused.

A comfortable silence fell between them even though the unspoken dread was there. He could feel it bouncing around them and neither of them needed to mention it. The strange behavior of the akuma had them both on edge. It seemed like she would jump from the bushes any moment to seize their miraculous. The entire time he'd been out of costume, he was wondering if she watching from the shadows.

He knew Ladybug was thinking the same thing. Her eyes were always searching and her fingers never ceased their grip on her yo-yo.

How could he read her so well when he didn't even know her?

How could she think he didn't?

His tail automatically drooped to match his cat ears.

"Uh-oh," Ladybug said.

The tail and ears instantly shot up. "What?"

"You did the droopy thing."

"Huh?"

"The sad cat."

"Oh." Chat Noir shoved his hands into the suit's pockets and tried not to slump.

"You look like a kitten that got caught in the rain," she said.

He raised a brow at her.

"In the bath?"

His cat ears went flat again. "I'm sensing a theme."

"On the way to the vet? In need of a deworming?"

Chat Noir gave her his best hiss.

"Watch out or I'll have you declawed." Her bright smile nearly obliterated her words from before, but the moment he realized he wasn't thinking about them, of course, made him think about them.

"Do you really think I don't know you?" he asked.

Ladybug instantly sobered. "What?"

"You said, 'If only you knew me.'"

"Oh," she said. "You know, the real me."

His claws gestured up and down her body. "This is the fake you?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"No, I don't." Chat Noir's belt tail flicked in agitation and he saw her eyes flicker toward it. He never had to hide how he felt when he was in costume. The suit didn't let him even if he wanted to. "I'm more me when I'm with you than when I'm just me."

She gave him a little smile before turning back to the wind in the trees. "What does that even mean?"

"It means exactly what I said. I'm more me when I'm around you. More than I ever am with anyone else."

She looked at him again, her bluebell eyes taking him in, searching until he was sure he was drowning. She seemed to have a million questions and he knew she wouldn't ask them.

"What about Plagg?"

Chat Noir snorted and then, upon thinking about his kwami he gave a little sideways smile. "Okay, if you don't count Plagg."

"So you're saying the real you is the fake you?" asked Ladybug, gaze flickering away to somewhere more distant.

"Not exactly. Just that the real me doesn't get the liberty of being the real me."

"So when you're not Chat Noir you're different. You're saying _exactly_ the same thing I did. Just backwards."

"Well it's not like I'm a completely different person."

Ladybug gave a little hum at that.

Chat Noir stopped walking just as she ducked under a low lying branch. It only took her a second to turn around to find him with his fists clenched, cat claws digging into his palms.

"I know you," he said, looking her straight in the eye. "I know the exact moment you've come up with a plan. I can tell what you need me to do with just a look."

"I know, but that's—"

"I know when you're seriously sick of the puns and when you give me a hard time just for the fun of it. I can tell when you're happy or angry or sad, even when you try to hide it."

"Chat Noir."

"I know that some days you wish you didn't have to be Ladybug anymore," he murmured.

"I…"

"I know Master Fu shouldn't have left you so much to handle on your own."

She went silent then and, for a moment, he was worried he'd angered her.

"I mean, not that you can't handle it," he added quickly. "It's just that you shouldn't have to. Not alone. I, I hate seeing you have to deal with all these extra responsibilities and I can't even—"

"I know." Ladybug smiled then, just this sort of sad little smile, with a hint of appreciation. "I wish I could give you more."

"Then do it. I can help you, Ladybug."

"You already do, Kitty."

"You're my partner." _My other half,_ he thought, but didn't dare say. A sort of sick desperation welled into his throat, making his claws prick his palms again. "Why don't you trust me?"

She stiffened, but whether it was at his words or at the familiar beep of her earrings, he couldn't be sure.

"I guess we should find somewhere to detransform," he muttered when his ring gave its own warning.

Ladybug chewed on her lip and Chat Noir quickly tore his eyes away to walk past her, dread hunching his shoulders. Just as they were side by side her hand snapped down to his, pulling him to a stop.

"Don't you dare, Chat Noir," she said, squeezing his fingers with all the strength of a pissed off superheroine.

His voice came back low and hoarse. "Dare what, Ladybug?"

Her fingers wrapped impossibly tighter around his and he actually winced a little.

"Even _sugges_t I don't trust you." And then she was marching ahead, pulling him behind her as if he were a naughty child dragging his feet.

"What are you—?"

She didn't answer, but she gave him another firm squeeze, making him let out a yelp.

"Okay, I'm sorry!"

But she didn't relent. Instead, she dragged him along woods and brush, ignoring his apologies. Their miraculous beeped again.

"Ladybug?"

She started to mutter something under her breath, her ever vigilant eyes scanning the forest for the akuma that had yet to appear. The grove of trees thickened around them and just when Chat Noir was sure they'd need to mow down the brush to move any further she whipped around and shoved him square in the chest. It was only then, when his back slammed against a tree, that he realized what she was about to do.

"You don't have to—"

"Sit!"

He did. Like an obedient puppy he crossed his legs and plopped in a heavily covered thicket created by weeds and downed branches. There was just enough room in the bramble for her to plop beside him, her knee knocking into his with the same sharp anger that was still clear on her mouth.

Her miraculous beeped again.

So did his.

"Ladybug, I didn't mean—"

"Just shut up and close your eyes," she said, closing hers first.

So he did. He shut out the world and felt her hand slip through his, more gently this time.

"It's better this way," she mumbled, sounding suddenly less sure of what she had done. "We need to stay together."

He gave a nod even though she couldn't see it. "Okay," he mumbled, electricity dancing over his gloved palm.

And then there was silence, just leaves and whispers in the wind until the miraculous let out their final warning.

Adrien could feel the magic seep off his skin until his palm pressed, moist and naked against hers. They sat there for a long moment with nothing but the sound of crickets between them before Plagg broke the silence.

"Where's my cheese?"

Adrien let out a low groan and he felt the girl that was Ladybug let go of his hand, leaving his sweaty palm cold.

"You are such a killjoy," scolded Tikki.

"Oh, please, you can admire them anytime you want at sc—"

"Plagg!"

"Stop being hangry," Ladybug scolded his kwami. Her knee shifted against his and then Adrien felt a touch on the inside of his thigh. Not on a thick magical suit as she hurled him through the air… just a graze of her bare hand on his jeans.

He almost died. So many reasons.

She immediately jerked back. "Sorry," she squeaked. "I'm trying to find my bag."

"S'kay," he breathed.

"I'll get it," said Tikki.

Adrien could hear the kwami ruffling through material and then the distinct sound of chewing.

"Not bad," piped Plagg. "Could use more cheese."

"Okay, okay," Adrien groaned, trying to sound normal even though his heart was racing. He could feel Ladybug pressed against his side and it made his whole body go hot despite the chill of the wind.

"Only two more cookies," Tikki said, sounding very sorry.

"Okay," said Ladybug. Adrien could hear the pitter-patter of leaves beneath her tapping foot. "We need to be smart about this."

"Smart would have been remembering the cheese."

"I said I was sorry," snapped Adrien, trying to direct angry brows in the general direction of his kwami.

"I think it might be a good idea to keep our powers in reserve for now," said Tikki. "You two aren't strong enough to hold your transformations without some rest."

"We're going to have to sleep here, aren't we?" asked Ladybug with a pitiful whine.

"At least for a little while."

As if on cue, the wind seemed to pick up and even through the dense thicket, Adrien could feel its icy chill. Ladybug shifted again, tense beside him and he began to thread his arms from his sleeves. His elbow knocked into the foliage, pushing him sideways until he was pressed tight against her. He was glad her eyes were closed so she couldn't see him blush.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He shuffled his left arm behind her back once his right was free. She felt smaller without her suit. More delicate with cotton and fabric instead of magic on her skin.

"Giving you my jacket," he muttered.

"Oh," she said when he threw it in her direction so he didn't have to keep touching her. "Thank you." He could feel her moving beside him and then suddenly she let out a little laugh. "You wear Gabriel Agreste?"

Adrien instantly went red. "I thought you weren't looking."

"My head is under a jacket. Which you clearly spent some money on."

"It was a gift."

"I didn't peg you for a fashionista, Chat Noir."

A smile stretched over Adrien's lips. "Are you trying to say I'm unfashionable, LB?"

Ladybug's elbow grazed his ribs as she thread his jacket onto her arms. It made him go warm all over again, even though he had nothing on beneath but a white tee with his father's logo on the pocket.

"I'll have you know I've been told I can pull off a pretty mean _cat_walk," he said.

He could feel the vibration of her groan on his arm. He let out a laugh and he swore he could feel the heat in it, creating a cloud in the crisp air. If he opened his eyes he was sure he'd see waves of steam slipping from his skin into the night.

"I can picture it now," she sang with a laugh dancing in her throat.

"That funny, huh?" Adrien asked, feeling both offended and exposed. If only she knew how close she was.

She giggled. "I'm just imagining you moonwalking down the runway."

"Please, he'd be a disaster," said Plagg, sounding far too amused. "My boy doesn't have a fashionable bone in his body."

"Plagg."

"Oh, be honest, you're hopeless. I'm surprised you can tell your shirt from your pants."

Ladybug gave a little snort beside him.

"Very funny, Plagg," Adrien grumbled.

"I think it might be best if you two camped here for the night," Tikki interjected, steering them back on course. "I can gather some kindling for a fire to keep you warm."

"I'll help," said Adrien, shifting forward until he felt Ladybug's hand on his chest, holding him back. He wondered if she could feel his heart hammering through it.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," she said quietly.

"Don't worry, Ladybug." Looking straight ahead, he opened his eyes to take in the forest, darkened by the setting sun.

If he just turned around he would see her: her blue eyes bright against her skin, the full shape of her nose, whether or not she had more freckles to match the ones that peeked from beneath her mask.

"I won't look," he whispered.

"I know," she said. "I trust you, Chat Noir."

Her words hit his back, little warm puffs seeping into his shoulder blades and behind his ribs where they squeezed and wouldn't let go.

Whatever her other protest was, it seemed to disappear at that and he felt her touch his back, pushing him along. "Just don't go too far."

"I'll keep an eye on him_, _buga_nette_."

"Plagg," growled Ladybug and Tikki all at once.

Plagg laughed and fluttered onto Adrien's shoulder, giving his ear a tap. "Don't worry about this one, Sugarcube. He's as dense as they come."

Adrien swatted at him like a fly. "Hey."

"Plagg!" the girls yelled again.

The cat kwami giggled to himself the entire time they were gathering firewood, a never ceasing chuckle in Adrien's ear. And even though the wind whipped against his bare arms, Adrien never did feel cold, still warmed by her words and the memory of her hand around his, skin to skin.

They returned to the thicket just as the sun had set and the real chill of night had settled in.

"We're back," he warned, shutting his eyes. He could hear rustling in the leaves, like the sound of hopping. "What are you doing?"

"Jumping jacks," panted Ladybug. "Trying to stay warm."

He felt himself smirk at the girl in his imagination, working out alone in the woods, wearing red. "Is it working?"

"Not at all."

Adrien stumbled forward with arms full of firewood to add to the pile Ladybug had already collected, knocking into a few trees on his way. Keeping their eyes closed was ridiculously inconvenient.

By some weird kwami magic, Tikki got a flame going in their makeshift fire pit. They huddled around it and it was only then, with its heat that Adrien finally noticed how cold it had become. He could see flames dancing through his closed eyelids and it was hard not to feel vulnerable like this, blind in the dark with no magic suit to protect him. He shuddered a little at the thought of the akuma showing up now, even though he knew Plagg and Tikki were on watch, ready to transform them in a moment's notice.

"I wonder what's happening in Paris right now," Ladybug said.

Adrien could hear the chatter in her teeth and he had to resist the urge to wrap around her to keep her warm. She loved someone else, she'd told him more times than he could count now. He needed to be her partner, not her boyfriend.

"Nothing good," he said. "On a better note, can you imagine how pissed Hawkmoth is that his akuma sent us to the middle of nowhere?"

"That is a better note." She let out a loud involuntary _brrrrr_ and when she was only met by his silence, she asked, "Aren't you cold?"

"Only a little. You should move closer to the fire."

"I'm pretty sure I'd need to sit in it to get warm enough," she complained.

The woods around them seemed to come to life in the lack of his response. The soft sound of the owl had grown louder and the wind cracked at branches and limbs. It left Adrien on edge and he heard Ladybug take a little gasp when a branch fell somewhere in the distance after a particularly strong gust.

Then he heard her shifting in the leaves, snapping branches in the thicket.

"Can I just…?" she started and then her hands were on him again, her bare fingers ice cold on the skin of his bicep.

Adrien went rigid as she patted around him blindly, trying to feel her way to God know's where. She settled on curling her hands into his shirt and then her shoulder pressed into his chest and her pigtails tickled his nose.

"You _are _warm," she mumbled, hunching further so she was practically sitting in his lap. It took all his self control to keep his eyes closed. Then, even though her teeth were chattering, she added sternly, "This, this is for pure survival purposes."

"Sure it is," goaded Plagg from somewhere above them.

"D-don't encourage him," said Ladybug.

Adrien wasn't sure what Plagg was encouraging. He couldn't even find his voice.

"Ha!" Plagg let out a loud wheeze. "If you only kn—"

"Shhhh!" snapped Tikki.

"Mmnn," said Adrien.

"Chat Noir?"

"Nnnn."

Ladybug shifted across his legs. "Don't be weird."

He shook his head fervently and was still only able to get out a few incoherent syllables. "N-n-uh."

The girl that was Ladybug (for she definitely was a girl: soft and small and _oomph_—okay, her elbows were _not_ soft) shivered against him as she rearranged herself in his lap. She buried her arms in his stomach, forcing all the air from his lungs.

"P-please don't make me move," she begged.

Adrien finally found enough semblance of a brain to speak. "I-I'm, you're good."

"Good."

Her hair brushed over his fingers. He let one twist into her strands, so loose he hoped she couldn't feel it. She curled into a tight ball, sinking further in and he tried hard not to let himself look, to just take in the feel and smell of her: sugar and bread and everything that was a home he didn't know.

It was just comfortable enough to allow him to feel the fatigue. It crept in slow, leaving his limbs heavy as they draped around her. He shifted back against a tree so he could rest his head and her body followed.

"Don't you dare purr."

Adrien smiled into her hair. "No promises, LB."

And even though he couldn't see her, he swore she smiled too.


	2. They're not out of the woods yet

~.*~*~*.~

**Her**

~.*~*~*.~

The night was long.

Wind cracked at twigs and whistled through leaves and Marinette was tucked in between the boy who was Chat Noir's knees.

She couldn't even find the energy to be embarrassed. He'd already muttered enough apologies for the both of them and she knew he had only shifted his legs around her to keep her warm.

When she still didn't stop shaking, he asked for the jacket. She selfishly wanted to keep it, but he was probably freezing. At least she had long sleeves.

"Oh, s-sure," she said, sitting up to unthread her arms from the sleeves. He moved to give her more room and she immediately missed his warmth.

"I just want to fix it for you," he explained when she handed it over.

"You can take it back, I'm f-f-fine."

Chat Noir just gave a snort and fumbled for a minute before he let out a couple of irritated grumbles. "This is really hard to do with my eyes closed."

"I'll help," said Tikki.

"Thanks. There's some snaps in the collar."

Every second that passed felt like torture. Marinette shuttered and rubbed her arms and felt Chat Noir's knees squeeze around her.

"Almost done," he assured her, so gently that it stilled the chill for just a moment.

Then the jacket was back around her shoulders. He held it still while she thread her arms through the sleeves.

"Thank you," she murmured and before she could ask what he had been doing, he pulled a hood over her head.

"There," he said, sounding breathless. "There was a detachable hood in the inner pocket."

"N-nice design," she managed through her chattering teeth. "P-practical."

Chat Noir gave a noncommittal hum. She felt guilty when his bare arms wrapped back around her, pulling her close.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I've got a limited edition Ladybug blanket."

His chest bounced under her as he laughed and she joined him, feeling at ease for the first time since they'd de-transformed.

"S-s-silly Kitty."

He made a show of rubbing her arms and she let her head fall into his chest, listening to the drum of his heart, beating too fast.

It was only then, in the quiet, that she thought of Adrien. How she could only dream of being this close to him. How that spot was for Kagami now.

And that made her think of Chat Noir and how hard it would be for her if their roles were reversed. If she had to hold the one she loved knowing he loved someone else, knowing she would have to let him go in the morning.

Her heart sunk while his pounded. She slid her arms around his sides, felt his ribs through the soft cotton of his shirt, and held him tight.

When Marinette woke the first time, it had grown even colder. Her nose was so frozen it made her head hurt and her fingers felt like little blocks of ice even though she had tucked them into Chat Noir's shirt.

His heart had slowed and she could feel his chest rise and fall softly underneath her. She shifted, trying to get comfortable and found it was hopeless. The earth was frigid beneath them and the warm glow of the fire behind her eyelids had faded, which could only mean it died away. She turned her head from Chat Noir and peeked into the darkness, finding nothing but glowing embers and the moon shining through the evergreens.

"Tikki," she hissed.

Chat Noir stirred, a sharp inhale. "Everything okay?" he asked groggily.

She pulled from his arms and gave a short nod.

"Ladybug?"

It took her a second to remember his eyes were closed.

"I don't see Tikki," she said, continuing her search of the forest for the kwamis. The moon was just bright enough that she should have been able to make out Tikki's distinct red among the leaves.

Chat Noir straightened under her, suddenly very awake. "Plagg?"

Nearly a minute of silence passed before Marinette lost it.

_Oh God, what if they were captured? And now we're alone. In the woods. At night. Without powers. What if they are gone forever and we have to open our eyes and—_

"Tikki!" she screamed. "Tikki!"

A sharp groan followed.

"She went to get more kindling," said Plagg, sounding very much like he had just been woken.

"Oh, thank God," Marinette gasped.

Chat Noir took in a deep breath beneath her. "Well, that was invigorating."

"Sorry!" Tikki chirped in the distance.

Marinette caught a flash of red emerge from the trees, carrying a bundle of dried sticks. She could feel Chat Noir relax and it was only then that she realized how tight his knees had drawn around her.

"I thought you'd been captured," she hissed to Tikki.

"The fire needed more wood. I could tell you were getting cold," said Tikki. "Plagg was supposed to keep watch."

"Yeah, he was keeping watch alright," grumbled Chat Noir. "On the inside of his eyelids."

"Please, you were fine," said Plagg.

Chat Noir's legs straightened out on either side of Marinette and she could hear him let out a yawn while he stretched.

She shivered again, but whether it was from the cold or the idea of being left defenseless, she wasn't sure. Then, when Chat Noir shifted again, just a tuft of moonlit hair came into her peripheral vision. She clamped her eyes shut.

"How long until the sun is up?" he asked.

"At least four more hours," said Tikki, putting down the kindling she had gathered.

Marinette gave a loud groan. "I can't believe I'm wishing for morning."

"Try to rest," said Tikki. There was suddenly a warm glow through Marinette's eyelids where the fire had rekindled. "You're both going to need your strength tomorrow."

"Worst akuma ever," Marinette grumbled.

"I don't know about that," sang Chat Noir. His arm rubbed across her back as he continued to stretch out and she swore she could feel his smug grin.

"Oh?" she said. "What other akuma did we have to fight overnight?"

"None that I can remember, but Sandboy definitely robbed me of some sleep for a few weeks straight."

Marinette shuddered, remembering the Adrien of her nightmares. "Don't remind me."

"This isn't so bad," Chat Noir said over her shoulder. "Maybe just not the best place for rest."

There was a long beat before he could no longer contain himself. He gave a giddy snort.

"C'mon bugaboo. For rest? Forest?"

"Don't make me leaf you."

He laughed and let his legs lift beside her waist again. "You know I can't resist acorn-y joke."

"Stop." Marinette leaned back into his chest as another breeze blustered through the brush. "Wood you?"

Chat Noir went stiff as a board (pun intended) and let out a choked guffaw.

She immediately went red, realizing just where her hip was nestled. She tried to withdraw and he snapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry," he wheezed, chest rumbling with laughter he could no longer contain. "I'm sorry!"

"Chat Noir!" She squirmed under his grip even though she was laughing too. "I'm never punning with you again."

He grasped her tighter. "You're no pun."

She stuck an icy hand in his armpit and he let out a gasp, but didn't let go. "I am so punny."

"You're both hysterical," hissed Plagg. "Now go to sleep."

"Hissterical?" asked Marinette.

"Wood?" asked Plagg.

She went red and hid her face in Chat Noir's chest, even though he couldn't see her. "I hate puns."

"But you're so"—he snorted—"wood at them."

"I'm not going to axe you again…"

Chat Noir's chest rumbled again. "God, I lo—" he instantly stilled, the rumble drawing to a sharp close, and his voice grew quiet, "—love puns."

It took her a long time to fall back to sleep.

Neither of them rested well after that. Whenever Marinette felt like she had nodded off, Chat Noir would squirm or cough or do something that was equally disturbing for a bed to do. At some point she tried to sleep beside him rather than on him, but they both grew cold so quickly they returned to their prior arrangement.

No more words were exchanged. And it was only by sheer exhaustion that she sunk into her deepest sleep near daybreak.

She was late to school again, had to be. That's why her alarm didn't go off. She probably hit snooze a thousand times in her sleep. She gave a low groan and, in her stupor, wondered why her bed was moving. She reached sideways to find her phone and found leaves instead.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Sunlight beamed in broken rays across a pair of slim-fit, dark wash jeans and trailed up to a white collared tee, half tucked, with the Gabriel Agreste logo embroidered on the pocket. It was only when it came to a stop under the shadow of a familiar jawline that Marinette realized she was not looking at one of her magazine cutouts.

She let out a squeak and snapped her eyes shut before she saw any more. Panicked, her hand shot out in the general direction of Chat Noir's face.

Her finger stabbed him in the eye.

He let out a wounded howl, not unlike his namesake, while she smashed her palms over his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"That was my eye!" Chat Noir hissed, trying to pry her hands away.

"I know, I was afraid you'd look!"

"I thought you trusted me!"

"I do! I forgot where I was and I was scared you would too so—"

"Wait! You saw me?"

"Just your shirt!" she squeaked before adding sheepishly, "and your pants."

"Oh." She could hear him swallow. "Oh, it's okay. I didn't see anything either, can you just…" He hissed again. "Ow."

Marinette unclamped his face and sheepishly shoved her hands into her lap, her eyes still squeezed shut. "I'm so sorry. I'm so clumsy."

His moaning seemed to stop at that, a sharp pause.

"Ah, nothing like the sound of shrieking to wake you up in the morning," said Plagg from somewhere above them.

"You were _asleep again_?" Chat Noir's voice cracked.

"Only for a few minutes. Even kwamis need a cat nap once in a while."

"Don't worry, we took turns," said Tikki.

"Ugh," groaned Marinette. She stretched, stiff from the cold. Her whole body felt like it was broken in two: half of it frozen and exposed to the elements and half still warmed by Chat Noir.

Blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Do you think it's safe for us to transform now?" he asked, voice strained. "We're not going to get very far if we can't open our eyes."

"I know. This is…" Marinette didn't know what this was. She took in a shaky breath. "Tikki?"

"If you can get somewhere with food then we can recharge," she agreed.

"Food…" moaned Chat Noir.

The very word sent a pang of hunger through Marinette's stomach. She was thirsty too. Her lips were cracked and dry and when she licked them there was hardly any thing to wet them with.

"I spotted—oh, please, Chat Noir—_saw_ a river nearby," said Tikki. "Maybe you can catch some fish for breakfast."

"Like a real cat," Plagg chirped in appreciation.

"Yeah, a cat with one eye."

"Sorry," Marinette squeaked again.

"I bet I look dashing with an eye patch."

"..."

"It's a joke," he said and then she felt his fingers in her side. They felt around until they found her bent knee and gave it a couple of reassuring pats. "I'll be fine. It's not the first time I got a bug in my eye."

Marinette shoved his hand with an annoyed groan and climbed to her feet. "Okay, well then, that's a relief."

"Speaking of, I'm gonna go _relieve _myself before we transform. Just—" She could hear Chat Noir stand beside her and then his fingertips brushed against her sleeve, searching. He grabbed her arm to hold her still and flipped around so his shoulder blades pressed into her back. "—don't turn around."

"Good idea," said Marinette, unsure why her throat suddenly felt like it might close. And then, just as he peeled from her, she said, "Wait!"

"What's wrong?"

"Your jacket." She slipped her arms out of the sleeves.

"You can keep it."

"I'll have the suit on in a minute. Here." She pushed it behind her back and felt Chat Noir's bare fingers grab it from hers. "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Ladybug."

She opened her eyes, taking in the sunbeams sprinkling through the dense forest canopy and listening to the leaves crunch beneath Chat Noir's boots...sneakers, sandals? She would laugh for a hundred years if Chat was the kind of guy who wore sandals in cold weather.

Peeing in the woods sucked and she thanked God that was all she needed to do because she was not about to wipe her ass with poison ivy.

"Sometimes I wish I was a boy," she grumbled and she could hear Chat Noir laugh somewhere behind her back.

"We definitely have some ad_man_tages."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Do you ever stop?"

"If you mean being a dork, then no," said Plagg.

"Plagg," Chat Noir said flatly. "Claws out."

Marinette could hear the magic, the light twinkle that accompanied the power encircling her partner. She called Tikki and felt her own body encompassed with the protection of the supernatural suit that made her everything Chat Noir thought she was.

Ladybug turned around to find her partner once again in black. "I'm done."

His tail flicked happily when he turned to face her. One cat eye peeked out of his mask. The other stayed clenched shut and was leaking tears. He strolled up to her and leaned on his staff, all smiles.

"It is so good to see you again, bugaboo."

"I really got you good, huh?" she asked, sliding her finger over his mask.

Chat Noir forced the eye open, but even then he was squinting. "My new superhero name will be Mad-Eye Kitty."

She rolled her eyes, taking away her hand.

"Snake Noir?"

"Didn't you do that already?"

"No, you know, like Solid Snake with the eye-patch, the video-game character?"

"Oh, I'm well-versed in Metal Gear, I'm just pointing out the redundancy of your name choice."

He grinned at her, blinking back tears. "_Cat_ain Chat?

"More like first mate," she teased. She took out her yo-yo, spinning it before looking at him over her shoulder. "How about Patch?"

He laughed. "My aunt had a cat named Patches. I don't think he liked me."

"Probably territorial."

"Oh, aren't you cute?"

"Always, Kitty."

She shot out her yo-yo and heard him murmur as she took off in the air: "Always."

The water in the river was clear and fresh and Ladybug took a long drink, praying Tikki made her stomach resistant against any microscopic germs swimming inside. Chat Noir splashed his face a few times and his blond hair hung in damp locks against his mask. It made his eye look a little less awful and Ladybug had to turn away, embarrassed.

Even half blind, he lived up to his name and managed to catch a fish, spearing it with his claws.

"I feel kinda bad," he pouted, watching it try to wriggle free in his hands, wounded.

Ladybug raised a brow at him, but he just stared at the fish, looking devastated.

"I thought cats liked to play with their food before they ate it," she tried to tease.

He ignored the opening. "I don't like killing things."

A memory hit hard, causing Ladybug to suck in a breath: her partner, cold in white; the other Ladybug beneath the water, crumpling to dust.

"I'll do it," she said, taking the dying fish from his grasp. She did her best to make it quick and tried not to cry.

In less than a minute she'd stuck the fish over the embers of their fire and they waited for it to cook.

After some time had passed, Chat Noir grew impatient. "How long do you think it'll take us to find civilization again?"

"Those vineyards have to have a caretaker," Ladybug said, watching him test the fish with a claw to see if it was done. "I think that's our best bet."

"We can't be too far from there at this point," Chat Noir said, observing his claw. His eye was mostly open now, but the bright green of the miraculous magic was tinted red from her finger jab. "I think it's ready."

Together they ate about half the fish (most of it was bones) and wrapped the rest in leaves for the kwamis.

"That was such a tease," whined Chat.

"There's still the head."

"Don't tempt me."

"Fish heads, fish heads, rolly polly fish heads," Ladybug sang and watched Chat Noir's mask rise with his brow. "Fish heads, fish heads, eat 'em up, yum."

"What was that?"

"A dumb song my dad used to sing to make me laugh."

"Your dad sounds fun."

Ladybug remembered Chat Noir sitting nervously in the Dupain-Cheng's dining room while Tom scolded him for not loving her. She gave a short laugh. "Oh, loads."

"I wish I could meet your family. I bet they're nice."

She picked up a hint of something in his voice that she wasn't sure was fatigue or sadness or longing, but she didn't pry. She didn't have the liberty to.

"They are," she said instead. "They're probably pretty worried too."

His cat ears went flat. Besides being grounded, he hadn't mentioned his family at all. She was beginning to wonder what kind of home her sweet goofy partner came from and her mind went nowhere good.

Her voice grew soft. "I'm sure your family is worried too."

"Yeah."

She gave him a smile. "Let's snag this akuma and get home then."

He set his ears straight and gave her a wink. "Sure thing, LB."

The red tint in his eye from her fingernail made Ladybug wince and shame sent a wave of heat into her cheeks, finally thawing them.


	3. How to skin a cat

~.*~*~*.~

**Him**

~.*~*~*.~

The first sign of civilization was not what he expected.

They had been walking, yo-yoing or carefully catapulting for nearly an hour when the forest split apart, earth rising to concrete. The corner of a familiar building broke through the trees, not quite high enough for them to notice until they were on top of it.

Ladybug came to a dead stop mid-swing and Chat Noir nearly smacked into her, having to somersault to the side in order to avoid a collision.

"Is that…?" His eyes wandered up and he swore he could smell croissants still baking.

"The Dupain-Cheng's bakery," said Ladybug. She sounded flat and stiff and he imagined the wheels in her head churning, trying to put things together.

Evergreens reached over the rooftop balcony, their branches low and scraping the shade strewn above Marinette's pink lawn chair. Something bubbled from Chat Noir's stomach up to his throat and his voice came out nearly as flat as Ladybug's.

"Marinette lives there."

Ladybug's yo-yo was already connecting with a towering tree that hovered right outside the entrance and, in a mere second, she had swung through the front door.

"Mo-Mr. Dupain!" she called, voice echoing from inside. "Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?"

Chat Noir took off after her, staff drawn.

Inside the display was lined with sweets and bread so fresh they made his stomach growl. Nothing seemed out of place. The cat ears on his head twitched, searching for voices, but the only sound he heard was Ladybug's footsteps, storming up the stairs to the home above.

He double checked the bakery kitchen before following, eyes skirting over all the details like they had every time he had visited the Dupain-Cheng home, as both Chat Noir and himself. There was a sort of cluttered hominess about it. Picture frames and knick knacks crowded shelves; bright, warm colors brought life to every corner. It was so different from the cold stark hallways of the Agreste mansion, where each item of decor had its own space, sparse and far from the next.

Chat Noir felt the cat ears fall flat against his head. He shook them back in place and tried not to think about home.

After a brief search, he found Ladybug in Marinette's room.

"I...um," he cleared his throat, stunned, "didn't see anyone. What are you doing?"

Ladybug gave a groan and shut down Marinette's laptop. "Checking to see if the internet worked. No such luck." She immediately slid the rolling chair to the side and started digging through dresser drawers.

Chat Noir closed his baton and tucked it behind him. "Isn't that kind of, uh… invasive?" he asked, stepping up to look over her shoulder.

Fabrics came unfolded beneath Ladybug's polka-dotted hands. "About as invasive as boys snooping around her room," she grumbled.

He gave her his best grin even though she wasn't looking. "What about adorable kitty-cats?"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't take them off the task at hand. "Just don't cough up a hairball on anything."

Chat Noir took that as permission to explore. He'd been in Marinette's room a handful of times now, but it never got old. Just like the rest of the Dupain-Cheng residence there were odds and ends everywhere, each bright and useful and beautiful.

His eyes flashed above Marinette's bed to the corkboard housing her pictures and magazine cut outs. He found himself there, but not nearly to the degree as before. Just a couple of his modeling shoots and group photos with their friends. It made him feel fuzzy, like a river of warmth had spread from his chest.

"Marinette is super talented," he said, more to himself than Ladybug. He touched a pattern draped over her chaise, careful not to use his claws.

The design was modeled after a traditional Chinese cheongsam, but the material was cut too short, draping down only long enough to rest on a model's hips.

"Is this a jacket?" he wondered out loud.

"Looks like it."

Ladybug's voice was on his shoulder. Chat Noir nearly jumped out of his skin, which of course he had to comment on once his heart stopped racing.

"Sneaky bug." He put a hand to his chest. "You nearly skinned this cat."

She gave him a sort of sideways smile and then her eyes slid to the fabric, now clenched in his fist. "Don't ruin that."

"Sorry!" He let it go, smoothing the material and checking it for holes from his claws. There were two pulls in the silk, leaving a deep blue thread hanging across a pink lily. "Ugh, I am so glad your ladybugs fix everything."

"Me too," she said. Whatever she had been searching for must have been found because she looked like she had nothing more to do. Her eyes swept over him. "You really are into fashion, huh?"

"What? No." Chat Noir's tail twitched behind him as he shoved the material back onto Marinette's chaise. "Nope, not at all. What made you think that?"

"You looked like a walking advertisement for Gabriel Agreste this morning."

"Ha!" Chat Noir burst out loudly and then he let out a few painfully awkward chuckles while his mind spun a cover. "Presents. From my dad."

It was weird not to say _father. Dad _felt too intimate, but it made it easier to concoct his imaginary family and he immediately felt guilty when he wished they were real.

"He likes to think he's my wingman. Says girls dig the big brands. Ha." Chat Noir wiped the back of his hand under his nose so he could rearrange his face and his mouth reemerged with a flirty grin. "So, did the vision leave you needing a shovel?"

Ladybug's mask rose sideways with her hidden brow, but she didn't discourage him like usual and that, in itself, discouraged him. The night of cuddling in the cold felt far behind them.

His belt-tail slid downward, but he kept the smile on his face. He turned back to Marinette's design and imagined it on her, the dark blue matching her eyes.

"It really is pretty," he said, feeling a sort of prick of pain deep in his chest. "It suits her."

His eyes flashed back to Ladybug. He wanted to say, "you too," but her cheeks were already flushed like he did.

Once they were positive the coast was clear, they raided the bakery.

"I feel sorta guilty," Chat Noir said through a mouthful of quiche.

"I wouldn't." Ladybug licked chocolate off her thumb and he had to look away. "The Dupain-Chengs love us."

"You maybe."

Ladybug looked strangely guilty. "I thought you said Mr. Dupain apologized after the Weredad thing?"

"Sure, but I doubt he loves me." Chat Noir helped himself to another piece of fresh quiche, finding himself near tears as his empty stomach growled happily. "So good."

He swallowed too quickly and felt a lump in his throat. "I doubt Marinette is my biggest fan anymore either. I hope they're okay."

Ladybug chewed on her lip for a minute before finishing off her chocolate filled croissant. Then she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Why do you think their bakery is here anyway?" Chat Noir asked.

"I think the akuma is exchanging Paris for the woods," she called back over the sound of clinking dishes. "Remember how trees were popping up where buildings used to be? Her power is trading the wilderness with the city."

"Makes sense." Chat Noir said, swallowing down more quiche as he followed her into the kitchen. She seemed completely at ease raiding the Dupain-Cheng's cupboards and for some reason that made him grin a little. "The food definitely takes time travel out of the equation. I wonder what replaced us? A couple of bushes?"

"Or thorns."

"In her side," he chuckled. "Nice one."

Smiling, Ladybug turned around with two mugs in her hands and offered one to him. "Coffee?"

Chat Noir let out a sigh of appreciation and took a sip. "Still hot. Treehugger must still be in Paris, sapping away."

"Did you just—nevermind."

He grinned when she rolled her eyes and the two of them took some time to enjoy their drinks. It almost felt normal, being there with her. He found himself wishing they had more quiet moments like this, free of akumas and filled with food.

"What made you think Marinette isn't your fan?"

Chat Noir nearly spit out his coffee. Ladybug's smile had slipped into such a hurt expression that he felt guilty and he didn't even know why.

"I'm, I don't, I mean we're friends, I think, but I just…"

"She definitely considers you a friend."

"How do you know?"

She blinked and took a long sip of her coffee before answering. "Multimouse. She said she couldn't wait to work with you. She talked about how great you were when you rescued her dad, and that time with her grandpa," she started to count on her fingers, "her grandma, Glaciator, Evillustator… I think I'm missing a couple. That girl sure gets in a lot of trouble."

Heat flooded into Chat Noir's cheeks and then, before he allowed himself to dissect that more, he dissected something else.

"Do you know her?" He tapped the mug with his claws. "I mean—"

"I know what you mean and you know I can't answer that."

His ears went low. "Aren't you the guardian now?"

"Chat—"

"Master Fu knew who we were. The same rules don't apply anymore, do they?"

"I don't—"

"You said you trust me."

"Kitty."

"Beetle."

She snorted. "That's a new one."

"That's your name when I'm angry with you," he pouted.

"Tikki said—"

"I don't care." His claws scraped against the mug. He looked down, staring at the ripples in the black liquid inside. "I know you're amazing and you always manage to save the day, but what if I'm not the one to take the fall? What if I mess up and the akuma gets you… what if I need help?"

Ladybug stayed quiet for a moment. "I think—"

Before she finished he realized he didn't want to hear her answer: the reasons why they still couldn't know each other completely.

"I know Master Fu chose you to be the Guardian," he blurted, "and I'm just the guy helping you out, but I need to be able to save you too."

Chat Noir could hear Ladybug put down her mug and before he dared to look, her gloved hands slid over his fingers, taking his away. There were long scratches in the paint from his claws and he felt guilty for ruining something else of the Dupain-Cheng's. He stared at his boots and could hear the clink of the mug joining hers on the counter.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I just—"

"You've already saved me. Too many times." Her arms slid around his chest and her hands wrapped behind his shoulder blades, pulling him in tight. "You're my _partner_, Chat Noir. Not _just_ anything. I thought you knew that."

He felt himself melt into her embrace. "Thanks," he muttered, letting his arms drape over her shoulders. "But I'm still mad at you, Beetle."

"I really hate that new nickname," she mumbled into his chest.

"More than bugaboo?"

"I don't like it when you're mad at me."

Chat Noir smiled. They stood there for a long moment, among the smell of coffee and fresh croissants and he felt strangely at home, lost with her.

"Your hair smells like firewood," he mumbled after awhile.

"I can feel you purring."

He blushed. "Totally not a thing."

"I'm never hugging you again." But she didn't let go and he swore she squeezed even tighter. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

He let out a low sigh. "Okay."

"Together, Chat."

He let go first and returned her concerned frown with a grin.

"Always, Ladybug."

He put out his fist and she didn't hesitate to meet his knuckles with her own.


	4. Said the pot to the kettle

A quick note from me:

Thinking of all you readers during this crazy, historical and scary time. I'm praying it brings out the best of us: love and compassion even though we are kept apart. I pray that we find joy in the small things, that we remember what is really important in our lives. That we are thankful for every day. That we never let go of hope.

For me that means this world is not my home. I believe God has something better in store for us beyond this life, but that does not mean this life and this world does not matter. We must do the best with the time and place He has given us. We must love.

Just know that even though we are separated, you are not alone.

Hopefully this silly little story provides a momentary reprieve from this world for those who need it.

Message me any time if you need to talk. Praying for all of you out there.

~Tanya

PS. Another short chapter because I just needed to post already. What is a chapter count? Just throw that out the window. Half of this one is just pure guilty pleasure. I have a soft spot for superheroes in their civvies. Bring on the tropes.

* * *

**Evergreen**

* * *

~.*~*~*.~

**Her**

~.*~*~*.~

One great thing about kwami magic was the ability to store an endless amount of supplies and not even feel the weight.

Ladybug had probably ten pounds worth of food in her yo-yo, just in case. Not to mention the thermos of hot chocolate she snuck away to surprise Chat Noir with later.

But there was still the problem of getting back to Paris and an akuma to defeat. From her balcony they were able to see a small cottage on the edge of the vineyard. It sat secluded by the foot of what she assumed was the part of the Alps that bordered France, if they were that lucky. If they were still in Europe at all.

"Ugh," she groaned. "I'm so done."

"What's wrong, LB? Running out of stream?"

She rolled her eyes over to Chat Noir who shot his two finger salute to where a river forged its way through the woods.

She let herself swing to a stop. "I think I've had enough stream to last a lifetime," she groaned, visualizing the bacteria that were probably swimming in her stomach from her drink that morning. Dangling on her yo-yo string, she lowered herself down to the tree Chat Noir was lounging against.

"Snack break?" he asked, looking way too hungry for someone who had stuffed his face only two hours ago.

She gave a nod. "We should probably let the kwamis refuel."

"Ugh, I hate being blind."

"I have a solution for that." Ladybug slid a finger over her yo-yo and it lit up, opening to the bright abyss inside.

Chat Noir watched her with wide eyes while she pulled out an array of fabric. "Is that from Marinette's?"

"I commissioned her to make us some gear in case something like this ever happened again. They're missing a few features, but luckily she was mostly done."

She unrolled a pair of hooded sweatshirts, complete with matching masks. "The seams on the ties are reinforced and there's a place to attach them inside the hood so they can't be removed easily."

Chat Noir looked like a kid on Christmas as he took the mask she'd made from her hands.

"Leather?"

Ladybug gave a nod. "It's already been broken in. Should be pretty durable."

"A Chat Noir fangirl's dream come true," he chuckled. "This is _purr_fect."

He held the mask over his magical one. It was a bit wider, completely covering his forehead and the majority of his nose. She had stitched a bright green paw print in the corner for flair and it matched his cat eyes spot on.

Propping an elbow onto the tree trunk, he leaned into a ridiculous pose, like some over-the-top model with fish-face.

"What do you think?"

"You look ridiculous," she told him.

With a laugh, the pout pulled into a big cheesy grin. He put a claw on the pawprint, pointing it out. "This is _paw_some. She totally hand-stitched this. Marinette is the best."

Ladybug tried not to let him see her blush. She shoved the matching hoodie into his hands and had started to pull out some food and the mug of hot chocolate from her yo-yo when she heard him give a long drawn out _awwwww._

"Are these"—he sounded absolutely giddy—"cat ears?"

"Just put it on."

Instead, he leaned over her shoulder to see the red spotted hoodie in her hands, all smiles.

"No she didn't! Antennas?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes even though she was pleased by his reaction. She tugged on the hoodie and gave a pose. She had made it oversized, puffy and hanging past her hips. The less of her showing the better.

Chat Noir seemed absolutely smitten. "Doesn't she know I can't handle this amount of cute?" He batted at the hood's antenna just like a kitten.

"Knock it off and put yours on," she said, giving his hand a half-hearted smack. "I want to see if it fits."

"As you wish." He turned around theatrically and slung his armored suit through the sleeves, tucking in his claws. "Just don't be surprised when I'm too adorable to take."

"Good thing I'm more of a dog person."

"Meow-ch!"

She gave the Chat Noir hoodie a tug, frowning at the way it drew tight around his chest. She had meant to make it baggie and had obviously underestimated how much he'd grown. Maybe it would be looser without the suit.

"Can't be-_leaf_ how good it looks on me, can you?"

With a roll of her eyes, she turned her back to him and put the leather mask up to her face. "I'm going to detransform, okay?"

And suddenly there was a moment of silence between them before Chat Noir let out a quiet affirmation and turned away.

"Spots off."

The magic spun around her, slipping in pieces from her skin until her clothes reappeared beneath the hoodie and the leather mask was touching skin. She held it tight by the string.

"Oh, wow, that looks great!" chirped Tikki.

"Thanks," said Marinette. Then, realizing she needed to take a little less of the compliment for herself she added, "Marinette did a good job on them. Definitely an upgrade from the banana suit."

There was silence behind her and she let out a nervous chuckle. "Chat Noir?"

His voice came back quiet. "Claws in."

"Ah!" Plagg sang, swirling into her vision. "Finally. Please tell me you have cheese this time."

Marinette reached down to grab the array of food she'd pulled from her yo-yo before transforming. She held it out for his inspection.

"Camembert! You are truly the best Ladybug there ever was, M-URP!"

"Plagg," Tikki chided even though her little mouth was already full of macaron.

"Are you still looking the other way, Chat?" Marinette asked.

"Mmhm."

"I'm going to help you with your mask, okay?"

"Okay."

She couldn't understand exactly why he sounded so soft and subdued when they had been joking around mere moments before. She tried not to let it get to her: how badly he wanted to know her.

She turned to find a boy with slim-fit jeans and Gabriel Agreste sneakers (_seriously_?!) huddled beneath the hoodie she'd made.

"Let me take my other jacket off first," he said suddenly, already pulling it off before Marinette could turn back around.

She froze, watching his bare fingers slide under the hem of the sweatshirt and pull it over his head. And even with the mussing of his hair by the hood it was neater than she'd ever seen it. Styled and tame and coming to a peak on the back of his neck, so unlike the wild mane of Chat Noir. When his arms slipped out of the sleeves of the red bomber jacket he had let her borrow, she quickly turned away, heart pounding.

"Okay I'm ready," he said too soon.

Marinette gave a deep breath. "Don't turn around until I say."

"As you wish," he said again and she could hear the hint of a smile through his tone.

She turned to face him. The hoodie was back on and that weirdly neat hair stuck out like a sore thumb against the back of his neck. She tried hard not to think too much about it.

"New catchphrase?" she asked.

"As you wish?"

She gave a light laugh. "Someone's been watching Princess Bride."

"That movie never gets old," Chat Noir chuckled. She watched him lift his arms to press the mask on his face, pulling the strings taught around the back of his head. She took a step forward and grabbed the ends from his fingers and found hers shaking. With a deep breath she pulled them through the loops in the back of the hoodie until they were secure.

"Okay?" she asked.

"Mm."

Marinette pulled up the hood. Even without his suit or jacket beneath, it fit snug. She had to clear her throat to find her voice. "Can you do mine?"

"As you wish."

She shoved him in the back. "Oh my God, Chat Noir. Just fix me."

"Impossible," he breathed.

She turned around, lifting the mask to her face. "Okay."

Leaves crunched under his sneakers as he turned and then his fingertips slid over her ear. The hairs on the back of her head tingled as he lifted her pigtails over the string. He lingered there for a long moment before she had the ability to ask him what was wrong.

"The loop?" he managed to choke out.

"Oh, I put—I had Marinette build it into the seam of the hood. Just lift the flap."

His knuckles grazed the back of her neck, warm against her skin. When he was finished he pulled the hood over her head and gave the antennae a playful toss. The silly action gave her just enough courage to face him.

"Wow," he said, but she was the one who felt her heart skip a beat.

Chat Noir's eyes were a bright natural green, the pupil round as it danced over her and she could make out long blonde lashes, gracing the tops of the holes in his mask.

"Your eyes are really green," she blurted.

He chewed on his lip and his hand slipped behind the hood on his head, mussing up the neat blond hair poking from beneath. "Yeah. You didn't notice when I was Mister Bug?"

She did, but she hadn't had the time to really look or notice how they made her heart beat in a familiar rhythm.

"And her eyes are really blue, who knew?" Plagg droned before throwing another piece of camembert into the air to devour.

The boy who was Chat Noir smiled, peeking out of the mask Marinette had made.

She tugged at the strings of her hood, pulling it tight to hide her face from his view.

"Didn't take you for a poet, Plagg," he said.

"Don't make me gag."

"And he didn't even know it."

Tikki came into her vision, hovering under Marinette's lowered head. She looked at her with such sympathy that Marinette went red all over again.

"Do you two have a plan, Ladybug?" she asked.

Marinette took a deep breath and forced herself to stand straight, looking at Chat Noir dead on. He looked so different this way, without the ears and messy mane and reflective eyes. She took a deep breath. Gabriel Agreste's clothes must make all boys look like models.

"Nn," she started, and found her tongue had tied. "The hottage—I mean cottage! The cottage. We're going there. To the win—sin—vineyard!"

Chat Noir stared at her with those green human eyes and her knees went weak.

She beat her chest to clear her throat and tried to will down the heat running rampant in her cheeks. "Oh, God, kill me," she moaned under her breath when Plagg started snickering.

For a moment Chat Noir kept staring, his mouth set open, and she swore she was going to storm over and shut it for him before he squatted like he always did, knees poking out to the sides. He had to adjust his jeans so he could get low enough to rifle through the snacks littering the ground and the whole thing looked so silly that Marinette almost burst into hysterical laughter.

He was still her Kitty after all.

"Let's hope they have wifi," Chat Noir said, snagging a pastry before Plagg could get to it. He took a big bite. "Or a phone." He spit crumbs into Plagg's face. "You know, if you had put some satellite tech in our weapons, it would save us a lot of trouble right now."

"Hey, you're lucky there's tech at all. We've been out of commission for a century," grumbled Plagg.

"There have definitely been a few upgrades in the technology department since our last owners," agreed Tikki.

"Even satellite phones don't work everywhere," Marinette muttered. She balled the ends of her sleeves in her fists before joining Chat Noir on the ground. She scooped up the thermos of hot chocolate and poured out a capful, careful to avoid his gaze when he lit up like a kitten served a saucer of milk.

"Aw, my fave! You're the best," he told her, giving the steam a blow.

Marinette tried to will away the blush that had yet to recede from her cheeks. "For stealing hot chocolate from the Dupain-Chengs?"

"For remembering how much I love it."

She snuck a sideways glance at her partner. He looked like the epitome of comfort even though he was sitting on the hard cold ground. Steam rose from the cup into the hood of his sweatshirt as he leaned over his knees.

She couldn't quite get over the way his blonde lashes graced the leather mask. Their suits covered all those details. Even their eyelids were masked when they blinked. It was so strange to see his tanned skin flutter over white and green.

It took her nearly a minute to realize she was staring, when he pulled the cap of hot chocolate from his mouth and licked it from his lips.

She immediately drank her own and choked.

"Are you okay?" asked Tikki, fluttering onto her knee.

Still hacking into her fist, Marinette shook her head. Chat Noir patted her back, his bare hand thumping gently between her shoulder blades. She forced herself to stop.

When he seemed sure she wasn't about to choke to death, he returned his hand to his mug, but he kept his eyes fixed on her. A soft smile slipped over his face.

"You know, I was wondering...when we were at the Dupain-Cheng's…I've been meaning to ask you something."

Marinette's mind immediately jumped into hyperdrive, coming up with a million things he could have noticed that could have given her away and a million lame excuses for them all. Her eyes flashed to Tikki, wide and fearful. For once, she listened to the shake of her kwami's head and didn't speak. It also probably helped that she was still trying to keep hot chocolate from coming out her nose.

"Do you think your ladybugs will put back all the food we ate?"

Immediately the softness of Chat Noir's smile slipped into a shit-eating grin and Marinette started hacking all over again.

"Absolutely not," Plagg chimed in, scrounging over the snacks. "The food in my belly is off limits."

"The ladybugs know how to distinguish damage inflicted by an akuma from other things," said Tikki. "They don't erase everything that happened."

When Marinette kept coughing, Chat Noir's hand returned to her back. "Breathe, LB."

She swore she wanted to smack the mask right off his sweet, stupid face. "Wrong pipe," she managed to wheeze out after a minute. She stood just so she could escape his concern and paced, still trying to clear her throat.

Chat Noir flexed his ungloved fingers. "Not just the akumas, though, right?" he asked Tikki even though Marinette could feel his eyes on her. "They fix my cataclysms."

"Yes," Tikki said. "Any damage done by a miraculous wielder counts. Thank goodness."

Finally dropping his eyes, Chat Noir took another sip of his hot chocolate.

Marinette turned to wipe the heat and tears from her watering eyes as a breeze swayed through the evergreens.

His next words hit her in the back.

"Do you think we'll ever be as good as Hawkmoth?"

"What?" she rasped, swinging back around to face him. "What do you mean as good?"

"I don't mean he's good, like successful, obviously." He gave a snort, fingers tapping on the cap in his hand. "Just, you know, it'd be nice not to lose our transformations everytime we use our powers."

"You'll get there," said Tikki, landing on his wrist. "You both have grown so much already."

"It doesn't feel like it."

Marinette took a deep breath and sat back beside him. "You were Snake Noir," she said, trying to sound firm even though her voice was still a wreck.

"She has a point," Plagg drawled, still chewing. "Not everyone can wield two Miraculous at the same time."

"But how do we get there sooner?" If Chat Noir had his tail it would be twitching. "We lost the other miraculous holders. We can't use them now that Hawkmoth knows their identities and he still has Mayura." He went quiet for a minute, but she could tell he wasn't done and then it came, the thing they hadn't mentioned until now: "I still can't believe Chloe turned on us."

Marinette scoffed. "Seriously?"

Chat Noir seemed to droop a little and she immediately felt guilty for her tone. "I thought she had changed."

"Change isn't easy," Tikki said, still perched on his wrist. "Most humans ebb and flow."

He gave her head a rub with his finger. His eyes scrunched a little, a sort of curve of affection that made Marinette's heart beat a little faster.

"Yeah," he said softly, "you're right about that."

"That's why kwamis are so much better," Plagg said, looking nearly twice his size from the cheese he'd consumed. "You humans think too much."

Marinette wondered exactly what Chat Noir thought about when he was alone with his kwami, at home with his family. A long time ago she would've cracked a joke about his puns, but it didn't seem right to do it now.

"I had hoped she would change," she said instead, turning back to her own cup of cocoa. "Mrs. Bustier, her teacher, I mean, she believed in her. Way more than I did. But I thought maybe, she _had _changed, at least a little…" Marinette swallowed, feeling the weight of the battle with Miracle Queen. "Is it my fault, Chat? For leaving her in the dark for so long? You were right. You told me to talk to her and..."

She could feel Chat Noir's eyes on her for some time and every second brought a weight over her shoulders. His affirmations were all that kept her going in her moments of self-doubt and if he held it against her...

"Of course not." His voice was so tender. "We might all be influenced by our environment, but ultimately our choices are our own. Chloe is Chloe's responsibility, not yours."

Marinette gave a quick nod as her eyes welled. "I'm not sure that makes me feel better."

"It's okay to make mistakes."

"Good." She laughed, rubbing the sting from her nose. "Because I've made a lot of them."

"Hey…" His knee bumped into hers and the cocoa in their cups splashed at the force. He flicked drops from his hand, making Plagg give an irritated hiss. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Sniffing, she gave a light chuckle. "Says the pot to the kettle."

"You're both doing all you can," said Tikki from her perch on Chat Noir. She gave them both smiles. "Right now just focus on the task at hand."

"Right." Marinette wiped her eyes, careful not to loosen her mask. And then their situation and Treehugger and Hawkmoth still at large came surging on her all at once. "We're totally failing right now!"

Tikki swept into the air until she was in front of her face. "That is not what I meant!"

"I know, Tikki, this is just _ugh_!"

"I don't know, this has kind of been a nice break." Chat Noir stretched his legs straight, showing off his scuffed Agreste sneakers and leaned back onto one arm, taking a long drink of cocoa. "I've been meaning to take some leaf."

"Chat, no."

"C'mon, LB, I know you've been _pine_-ing for some wood—OW!—Puns! Wood _puns_! I didn't mean—you didn't let me finish!—The _sentence_! God that's hot. _HEAT_ hot! I swear, Ladybug! Please don't!"

Marinette only felt slightly guilty about the hot chocolate stains spreading across the hoodie she'd made.

At least it was black.


	5. You had me at merlot

~.*~*~*.~

Him

~.*~*~*.~

Ladybug stood upon the Arc de Triomphe like a general in war, snowflakes dissolving into the red of her suit. Her yo-yo spun circles in her hand, her hair whipped in the winter wind and the mountains seemed too small a background.

Chat Noir was sure he'd never grow used to the chills that accompanied these moments. When she stood, unaware of how powerful she was and her blue eyes cast back to him, wondering why he wasn't by her side.

"Admiring the view," he said and she took it like a question, finally allowing the yo-yo to relax back into her grip.

"I was hoping for more of one to be honest." She sighed, plopping down on the French monument like a child, criss-cross applesauce. Leaning back, hands on stone, she blew out a puff of frustrated air. "There's no sign of anyone."

Chat Noir rose to the top of the arch on his staff and took in the view.

"I have a leaf in my hair, don't I?" Ladybug asked, tugging at her pigtail.

"You got it," he lied. Flushing, he tucked his staff into his belt and finally turned to the mountains.

She had been the one to spot (hehe, spot) the Arc de Triomphe while they had hiked through the woods in their Marinette™ hoodies. It had nearly blended into the snow and rock, just a hint of Paris among the wilderness, lost despite the victories carved into its sides. They had to transform to make it there. What was a hike up treacherous cliffs for mere mortals was a quick vault and swing for superheroes.

The mountain still stretched tall above them, disappearing into the clouds. Below was the vast expanse of the forest, with bits of Paris peeking through.

The vineyards and their cottage still sat in the distance, waiting for them.

"I guess it's back to Plan A then?" he asked, peeking at her.

Ladybug gave a nod. "We have to get out of here."

"We will." He held out his hand for her to take.

She did and took him in. "You know what's funny?"

He rose a brow beneath his mask. "No?"

"That you're the optimistic one." She didn't quite smile. "Aren't you supposed to be bad luck?"

A smirk slipped into the side of Chat Noir's cheek, considering the irony of that statement. He nearly said her own words back.

If only you knew me.

And somehow it felt like she could read him in that moment, that she could see the quick succession of memories that played through his mind as her fingers stayed draped over his.

"Never did understand that superstition," he said, letting go of her hand to pull his staff back out of his belt. With a quick turn it expanded and he leaned on it, wagging his brows under his mask. "How can an animal with nine lives be bad luck?"

"Good point." And her smile creeped into something more playful. "What about one that always lands on its feet?"

Her finger found his nose and her eyes lit so brightly that, for just a moment, he forgot everything but her. His foot went backwards and the only thing that saved him from proving her wrong was the grace of the black cat.

He gave a flip off the side of the Arc de Triomphe and followed her laughter down the mountainside and through the trees.

They were both covered in snow by the time they reached the vineyards.

The grape vines, which had browned in the winter, had become ropes of white, weaving along crystal fences.

Chat Noir shook snow from his hair and dusted off the shoulders of his suit when they came together, waiting awkwardly beneath the shelter of the cottage roof after Ladybug had knocked.

"Hello?" she called.

Chat Noir pressed his mouth in the crack of the door. "Just a couple of strays looking for a phone."

Ladybug pulled him back by the tail. "Don't be creepy."

"What was creepy about that? Everyone loves a stray kitten." Retrieving his tail, he leaned his back against the door, and gave it an offended rub. "Bugs on the other hand…"

She rolled her eyes. "I beg to differ. Once you feed a cat, it never leaves."

"That is… not untrue."

Ladybug looked into the window with a sigh and dusted snow from her bangs. "I don't think anyone lives here."

Cracking his knuckles, Chat Noir gave a grin. "You know what this means?"

"Don't."

"Some good ol' fashion cat burglaring."

She groaned. "Just try not to break anything."

Chat Noir pulled his staff from his belt and gave it a dramatic twirl before extending himself to the roof. He peered down at her with a wink.

"I'll try to limit myself to breaking in."

Shooting her a two-finger salute, he scrambled over the thatched roof to a second story window. With a quick swipe of his claws against old dried paint, it snapped open.

"Minimal breaking required!" he shouted.

"Just be careful in there."

The window creaked as he lifted it enough to stick his head inside. "Oh wow," he cooed. "We hit the wino jackpot."

The cottage seemed to be more of a store house than a home. The second story room was filled with stacks of chairs, folded tables and wine paraphernalia. Through the open door he could see through the banister to the first story which housed an array of barrels and bottles, all neatly stored away and aging.

"There's no people?" Ladybug asked.

Poking his head back out, Chat Noir's ears lowered. "Looks pretty dead."

"A phone?"

"Gimme a minute."

He squeezed through the small slat of the window, wondering if it was his frame or the magic of the suit that helped him fit. The cottage smelled oaky and tangy, like wood and wine with a bit of the mildew that came with a home left closed for too long. He crept along the stacked furniture and felt the floorboards squeak under his boots.

The walls were made of stone and plaster, and the roof was held up with wood beams covered in dust. Venturing down the narrow staircase, he found an antique table covered in papers. He grabbed one as he made his way to the front door to let Ladybug in.

Relaxing against the frame, he turned the knob and tapped claws against his chin.

"Might I suggest the Pinot Noir? Hints of cherry, vanilla, with just a note of...mushroom? Weird. Says it has a medium body...well, I'd describe it more as fine, but that might just be my bias talking."

Ladybug grabbed the pamphlet from his hand, stepping inside. "Great. It says they're only open seasonally."

"Probably tough to get all the way out here for wine-tasting in the winter," Chat said, letting her inside. "Looks like there's a phone by the register in the back."

Ladybug immediately stormed past him, finding the corded phone hanging on the wall. She brought it to her ear and looked near tears.

"There's a dial tone," she breathed.

"Who should we call?"

"The police?" Ladybug seemed unsure. "I feel dumb."

"Hey, even superheroes need help sometimes."

"Okay." She took a deep breath and dialed the emergency number. After a moment her face went into action mode. "Yes, hi, this is Ladybug and Chat Noir—yes, the Ladybug—we're lost— no, it's not a prank—please, we need—look, we've been stuck in the woods for nearly two days now, I'm not—no, don't get Philipe!"

Chat Noir stepped behind the counter and gestured for her to share the mouthpiece. "This is Chat Noir, listen we just need a ride—"

Laughter burst from the phone and Chat looked at Ladybug in shock.

She pressed the phone back to her face, hands gesturing so wildly they got caught in the cord.

"Just check the news in Paris, there's got to be—no, this isn't a prank!" she snapped. "We're lost! Please just send someone out—no, I don't know where we are, that's what lost means!"

Chat leaned in and she automatically angled the phone so their ears could share the receiver.

"Look kids, this is an emergency number," the voice over the line was saying. "If you call playing superheroes again, we're going to send out the police."

"That's what we want you to do!" Ladybug shouted so loudly that Chat felt her spit on his cheek.

And then there was a click and the dial tone ringing in their ears.

"Wow…" he said. "Well, that was—"

Ladybug turned to look at him, the phone the only thing between them.

He took a sharp step backward, rubbing her saliva from his face. "Wanna try a cab?"

"I can't believe they didn't believe us!"

Chat Noir pulled himself up to sit on the countertop. "Maybe they think the akuma defeated us?"

"No. No no no no," she cried. "Someone had to notice pieces of Paris just appearing in the forest! This isn't possible. What kind of first responders do they have out here? Do they even have cabs in the boonies? The road is made of gravel. Gravel, Chat!"

"We could follow it?"

They looked out the window and saw that the snow had picked up so much that they could see nothing but white.

"Okay, maybe not a good idea right now. They said if we called again, they'd send the police."

So Ladybug did.

The response was literally the same.

"I sound exactly like her because I am her!"

Chat Noir explored as the conversation continued and after a while, couldn't help himself.

"Do you think they have any cheese to go with that whine?" he asked.

"Squirt bottle!"

He chuckled, watching as she slammed the phone into the receiver not once, but three times in order to hang up on the laughter emitting from the other end. And when she was finally done throwing her temper-tantrum, he held up two wine glasses, flipping them in his hands like a showy bartender. Setting them on the counter, he took out a bottle and twisted a claw into the cork.

"Not sure it squirts."

"Bad kitty."

"Good kitty."

Later, after the sun had set, a thick blanket of snow covered the ground outside the cottage window. It seemed brighter than it should have, the moon glowing through thick clouds and reflecting on the fluffly flakes falling to the earth.

Fire flickered in the fireplace, the long tasting table was covered with snacks from Ladybug's yo-yo, and a new sort of laughter filled the cottage.

"You had me at merlot," Ladybug was saying, reaching her glass across the table for Chat Noir to refill.

Grinning, he emptied the last of the bottle, belt-tail swinging content behind him. "You're my reisling to live."

Snorting, she put the glass to her lips. "Put a cork in it."

"No way, rosé."

"I'd rather have a catbernet."

Chat Noir's hand flew to his heart. "Aw, LB, are you flirting with me?"

Ladybug gave a very undignified snort.

"Because you are speaking my language."

"You never give up, do you, Kitty?"

Her blue eyes peered at him over the wine glass and he wanted to tell her the truth. That he never could, that even if he was nothing more than her friend forever he would never stop loving her.

His smile grew soft as he took another sip of wine and his miraculous let out a very timely beep. He leaned a cheek on his hand and felt the cool ring pressing against his hot skin.

Ladybug rubbed her face with her palms. "I've never had more than a glass before. Do you think Tikki will notice?"

"Probably." Chat Noir gave a shrug, shoulders too loose. "Not worried about Plagg, though. Once my father left half a bottle in the sitting room and Plagg decided to finish it. He spent the rest of the night sitting in boxes and making a bed out of toilet paper, so he doesn't have a lot of room to talk."

For a second, Ladybug just stared at him. He started to wonder what he had said wrong when she giggled into her wine glass.

"I would pay to see Plagg drunk."

"Maybe you'll get your chance."

"If he's drunk when you transform, would you be drunk as Chat Noir?"

"I think I'm a little drunk now."

She laughed again. "We are the worst superheroes ever."

"Au contraire, Ladybug. You are"—he flung a sloppy claw her direction— "the best superhero I've ever known."

"What about Ryuko?"

Ladybug's earrings blinked and she let out a single giggle into the rim of her glass.

Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck as his ring beeped again.

"You like her," she said. "At least a little. It's okay, you know."

"I know," he said, suddenly feeling the wine weighing him down. He took another long drink, not daring to look at her glassy eyes.

"The boy I… he's in love with someone else too."

Chat Noir felt the magic release from his skin the moment he turned to her and for the first time he watched her transform. Red stardust seemed to explode around her, disintegrating until there was nothing more than a girl.

The hood of her spotted Marinette™ sweatshirt was pulled over her pigtails and the two little antennas bobbed adorably over her head. The leather mask had gone askew on her face, so just a bit of her dark brow peeked through the eyehole. Her fingernails were round and short and painted pink, still wrapped around the stem of her glass.

"Oh boy," snickered Plagg. "When the cat's away—"

"The multimouse will play," giggled the girl that was Ladybug.

"You've been drinking?" Tikki asked, buzzing between them looking like a tiny red mother hen.

"Chat's fault," Ladybug said even though she was in the middle of taking another sip.

Adrien pointed toward the window, feeling defensive now that Tikki seemed to be singling him out. He hated disappointing her. "We're snowed in."

"If I ever say I want to move to the country, remind me of this moment," said Ladybug, lowering her face into folded arms with a groan.

"Is there cheese?" asked Plagg.

"Seriously?" said Adrien, adjusting the homemade mask to make sure it was still there.

"When have I ever joked about cheese?"

"I saw something moldy in the refrigerator."

"The moldier the better," Plagg sighed and immediately disappeared around the corner and phased through the fridge.

"Gross," chirped Tikki. Then, shooting another stink eye toward Adrien, she settled onto the crease of Ladybug's elbow. "Are you okay?"

There was a muffled whine before she answered.

"I'm a failure!"

"Oh no," cackled Plagg. "She's already entered Phase II."

Ladybug moved her hand and, with a quick sharp throw, just missed hitting the chewing kwami with a peanut.

"What?" he asked, tossing a chunk of moldy cheese down his throat. "Wine has only two modes: up or down. She is clearly on the downswing."

"You're not a failure," Tikki was cooing, giving Ladybug's dark hair a pat when she sank back into her arms.

"I can't even get us out of the freakin woods, Tikki!"

"You get us out of the woods all the time," said Adrien. He forced his best Chat-like grin even though her words were still weighing him down.

Ryoko, Kagami, and the boy Ladybug loved who loved someone else.

"Not literally!" she cried, throwing her naked hands into the air. "I cannot get us out of the literal woods."

When she flopped back down into her crossed arms, Tikki gave Adrien a look that could kill.

"This was a mutual decision," he said, shaking his nearly drained glass at her.

Plagg floated down, landing on Ladybug's hood. "Cheese usually does the trick," he said, putting the bitten piece in front of her folded arms. "Want some?"

"You're so sweet," cried Ladybug, peeking out of her arms to give Plagg an affectionate pat with her finger.

Adrien rose a brow and took another sip of his wine.

"What if the akuma showed up right now?" asked Tikki. "How are you two going to fight in this condition?"

"Why so serious, Sweettooth?" Plagg nuzzled up to her side, still nursing his cheese. "Let the kids have a break for once."

"But —"

"I spied some lovely moscato that is calling your name," sang Plagg. "Tikki, Tikki! Drink me. I taste delightful with a raspberry macaron."

And then Tikki was being dragged away by the cat kwami, who Adrien swore shot him a finger gun.

"Plagg."

"One glass and you'll be calling me kitten."

"You know my favorite macaron is vanilla."

"Such a basic bug."

The two kwamis phased into the cellar on the other side of the wall.

Ladybug let out a loud snort. "He called her basic."

"He watches a lot of reality TV."

She covered her laughter with her hands, and her giggles nearly melted Adrien into the floor. He could feel his smile pulling his cheeks even though they were numb.

"Come here," she said, patting the seat on the end of the table.

Adjusting the hood over his hair, he obliged and took his wine glass with him. He sat just as she lifted hers.

"To us," she said. "The dumbest dumb super heroes ever."

His glass clinked against hers. "You know I only agree with half that statement."

Ladybug nudged his shin with her shoe and Adrien couldn't help but notice her adorable pink flats and bare ankles. He had to try very hard not to think about how they seemed familiar.

His eyes quickly flickered up, heat drawing across his wine-flushed cheeks.

"Kagami has a boyfriend."

He paled as Ladybug shifted over her glass, disappearing under her hood. "Huh?"

"Adrien Agreste."

Heart racing, Adrien took a long drink.

"You know him. The model all over the billboards?"

His shoulders gave a tense shrug.

"I saw them kissing," she said, sounding much too sad, and just as he began to wonder, her eyes appeared again, looking into his. "I just don't want to see you hurt."

"I don't think they —" he started, thinking of the kiss that hadn't quite happened and stopped, remembering he shouldn't know that. "I mean, I'm not —you don't?"

"I know how it feels to see the person you love love someone else…" she said, voice going strangely soft. "I just don't want to see you go through that again."

"I don't love Kagami, Ladybug."

"I, I know, I mean I didn't think, well, I did think, obviously I have thoughts about you — it! —about things! I can think. I'm thinking." Her hand slid over her mask, fingernails digging under the edge. "Ugh, stop." She took a long, deep breath and slapped her cheeks with her palms.

"Why am I like this?" she groaned. "I just saw how you looked at her..."

His chest ached, watching the way she faltered over her words, the way the wine had made her so soft and so torn from her duty and, for maybe the first time, he saw her as just a girl. One who really cared about him, even if she didn't love him back.

"It's okay," he said, forcing a smile at her. "I'm fine."

"Chat...I'm sorry."

Adrien let his knee nudge hers. "Don't be."

"I'm sorry I can't, even if he doesn't, I still —"

He held up a hand to stop her. "Just let me say one thing, okay?"

She gave a nod.

"That boy you love. He's an idiot."

She pouted, her bottom lip jutting out. "You're an idiot."

Adrien couldn't help but smile. "Your idiot."

"God, Chat Noir."

"Yes?"

"How can you just say things like that?"

He gave a shrug and drained the last of his wine. His head felt full and fuzzy.

"I wish I was brave like you."

He watched as her hands curled into the sleeves of her Marinette™ sweatshirt until he could see nothing but the tips of her pink fingernails.

"You are brave," he whispered.

"Only when I have to be."

Adrien stared as she seemed to shrink under fabric, nearly disappearing from view. "You really don't know how amazing you are, do you?"

Ladybug gave an appreciative sound, but she continued to make herself small and soon she was nothing but pigtails peeking out of a hood.

He reached forward, batting one like a kitten until she showed her eyes again. "Come on, bugaboo. You know I can do this all night." He flashed her his best model smile and his voice broke into song.

"You… are… amaaazing. Yoohoo... are…"

She sat up straight. "Stop yowling at me."

Grinning he went on, continuing to bat at her pigtails. "Sooo...clawver. You've got a meowvelous purrsonality. Yoou… are soooo mew-tiful to meee."

Her palm leaned against the edge of his chair and she said, in a voice far too soft, "You are… so weird, Chat Noir."

"I'm sorry," he breathed. "I just have… so many cat puns."

The soft chuckle that started on his lips quickly died away as hers drew close. Her hand reached out of her sweatshirt to scratch under his chin.

"Silly kitty."

Adrien felt his heart leap into his throat, a shiver rising from deep in his gut. He instinctively leaned into her touch and her soft fingertips traced up his jaw. They slid along the tie of his mask until she met the curve of his ear.

His hood slid back.

When had Ladybug ever looked at him like that before?

Like she saw something new.

A sort of glassy haze covered the blue of her eyes as they searched him. The rose of her flushed cheeks grew stronger and he could smell the wine on her lips.

Was she going to kiss him? Oh god, she was going to kiss him.

And, unlike the million of other times he'd been tricked into letting a fake Ladybug draw him in, his finger flew to her nose, just the gentlest of boops to hold her back.

With a sharp laugh that seemed to startle them both, Adrien jumped to his feet, knocking his chair sideways.

"I should go. I need to go, I mean. To... to the litterbox, ha! Cat pun!"

Ladybug seemed to come to her senses, something brightening through the haze of alcohol in her eyes.

"Oh! Super punny," she squeaked. "The punniest. I'll just go freak out—bug out! Use the bug box. Over somewhere else." She pulled her hood over her head and hissed, "Tikki!"

Adrien scurried up the old staircase so quickly that the weight of the wine finally made its appearance, making the search for the bathroom an eventful experience. The floor felt like an ocean beneath his feet, the walls like waves.

He finally found a bathroom tucked into the corner of a storage room and immediately bent over the ancient sink. It sputtered old stinky well water into his hands and he splashed it over his face, cursing when he remembered the mask.

Frustrated, he untied it and tried to dry the leather off on his jeans, furious with himself for ruining Marinette's hard work. He carefully set the mask over the towel rack and ran wet hands over his cheeks, rubbing feeling back into them.

He leaned his forearms over the sink, sputtering water and spitting out the taste of wine.

When he finally gained some sort of traction over his balance, he lifted his head and saw his reflection in a gold-rimmed mirror.

The hood hung down on his back and his hair was tossled, but still neatly gelled. The same gloss that had covered Ladybug's eyes when she'd looked at him was reflected in his own.

"Stupid," he told himself.

He wasn't sure exactly why he thought so. For stopping her. For starting. For letting it get that far when she still loved someone else.

"Ugh." He rubbed his eyes over and over with his fingertips until the whites were red and little black specks floated in his vision.

One of them spoke.

"Adrien! You need to transform!"

He blinked to clear his eyes and the spot became Plagg.

"What? Why? Is it the akuma, is Ladybug—"

"The police just pulled up to the house and you two told them Ladybug and Chat Noir were here. Imagine the headlines if they find Ladybug and Adrien Agreste instead!"

"Okay, okay." Adrien rubbed his face. "Plagg, I think I messed up…"

"Don't worry about it, kid."

He didn't have the heart to ask if they were talking about the same thing.

"Claws out."

Magic fluttered over his skin, covering him in black and when Adrien looked in the mirror again, Chat Noir stared back at him, the red in his eyes subdued by a bright reflective green.

Out the window, he caught sight of a large police vehicle, fitted with a snow plow on the bumper. Heavy snowflakes reflected in its headlights, falling speedily to the earth.

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug called from below.

He didn't feel nearly as tipsy as he had a moment ago, the reality of everything sobering him. He still stumbled down the staircase with a particular lack of grace and tried to play it off when he caught the sight of Ladybug fully transformed, standing between two policemen.

"Look who decided to come," she said, voice flat and annoyed. The table they had been lounging at had been miraculously cleared of snacks and empty wine bottles and she looked every bit the responsible superhero.

Chat Noir tried his best not to look surprised. "Looks like we're finally gonna get out of the woods afterall, LB."

"Oh you're not out of the woods yet," said the police officer, pen clicking at what looked like a stack of tickets. "Breaking and entering? Stealing." The man pointed to a wine bottle rolling under the table. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Wait a minute, sir. You're barking up the wrong tree."

"Chat," scolded Ladybug.

He would not look at her, he refused to look at her.

"We really need to get back to Paris and defeat that akuma." His hands twisted, claws upturned in a gesture of surrender. "Can't we just leaf this little misunderstanding behind us?"

"See?" said Ladybug. "We're the real thing, Officer. I mean, no one is as atrocious at puns as Chat Noir."

He finally whipped around and took her in, that bright twinkle in her eye, as if nothing had changed between them.

"That's true," said the other officer.

Chat Noir turned back around. "Hey! My puns are wood!"

"Oh. My. God. No."

The cat ears immediately went flat on his head. "Oh… oh no, you're right. They aren't wood… they're catastrophic."

"Just get in the squad car."


	6. I barked

~.*~*~*.~

**Her**

~.*~*~*.~

After an aggravating interrogation, the ride in the back of the police car was quiet.

The only sounds were slippery gravel clicking beneath the tires and the static of the radio as the two men confirmed with the station that they were "pretty sure they're the real thing" and that "they look a lot younger in person."

They were in the Alps after all, north of the border of Italy and the famous Mont Blanc. No one had seen the akuma since they had disappeared, but bits and pieces of Paris continued to go missing, growing trees in their stead. People had lost their homes. A few had gone missing.

Most people had begun to fear Ladybug and Chat Noir had finally met their doom.

Snow continued to fall in fluffy sheets before the headlights, leaving Ladybug feeling like she was encased in a snowglobe. One that kept being shaken over and over again.

This was a disaster. She was a disaster. Oh God she really needed to be alone with Tikki so she could assume the appropriate freak out.

Now that the police weren't staring her down like a kid in a costume, she was not holding it together. She wasn't holding anything. She was definitely going to lose it.

Ladybug let out the tiniest of panicked squeals before doubling over her knees.

"Are you okay?"

She looked up.

Chat Noir literally could not take up any less space. He had somehow pressed himself flat against the door and pulled out the seatbelt across his chest like it was a shield between them. His cat ears laid low in his hair as he watched her with those big kitten eyes, waiting for an answer.

She could almost smack him for being so sad and cute at the same time.

How dare he?

She closed her eyes with a groan and tasted wine in the back of her throat.

Visions of white started popping into her head. She looked out the window and cold blue stared back from the snowflakes.

Somewhere through the snow and black sky she saw Paris under water.

_It was our love that did this to the world, M'Lady._

Why did loving Chat Noir mean the end of the world?

She had almost kissed him. With his stupid cat eared hoodie and his stupid green eyes and his stupid sweet smile and his stupid model hair. And all his stupid words. When she had looked at him then in her tipsy haze, heart bursting from all the moments that had led them there, from a trust and love that went far beyond romance… she wanted to.

She wanted to forget Chat Blanc and her responsibilities and know the boy beneath the mask, the incorrigible flirt who made dumb puns and arranged candles on rooftops for her.

Was that what made her lean in, tracing the outline of the mask behind his ear?

Or was it how, without the magic, she swore she saw Adrien under his hood?

Her eyelids burned, pricking heat building in the corners.

Was she really that desperate for a love she couldn't attain? Why couldn't she just let Adrien go? Why did it hurt so much to know she should?

How could she use her kitty like that?

Why didn't he let her?

Her heart slammed into her sternum. Shame welled into a bubble and a gross gurgle popped into her throat.

"Um…can we pull over?" asked Chat Noir.

The policeman in the passenger seat looked over his shoulder through the bars. "What for?"

"I think she's gonna puke."

The car immediately slowed and the lurch of the vehicle almost brought everything up right there in the seat.

After a panicked struggle with the lock, Ladybug stumbled out of the police car with Chat Noir scrambling over the backseat behind her.

She heaved wine and shame, dirtying the freshly fallen snow.

A hand fell between her shoulder blades, giving her back a rub.

"Wow, that's... a lot of wine. Did you eat Plagg's cheese?"

With a sob, she heaved again.

Gentle claws slipped against the side of her scalp holding back the pieces of hair that had come loose from her pigtails.

Ladybug thought for a moment that her mortification would never end and she swore she would never drink again, that she was the worst for drinking when Paris thought Hawkmoth had won, she was so gross, no wonder Chat Noir didn't want to kiss her.

"You think I didn't want to?"

Oh no, no no no. Did she say that out loud?

She covered her eyes, rubbing away tears before he could see. She needed to undo this.

"Ladybug?"

And she knew in that moment exactly how, in a world where she didn't remember Adrien, she could have fallen for Chat Noir. Under all the cocky silliness, he cared so, so much.

She had thought about Oblivio and that stupid picture a thousand times, mostly in the heavy guise of denial. But ever since fighting Chat Blanc, in that timeline that existed where he knew her as Marinette, where even with her memories of Adrien they had…

She couldn't let that happen.

"I barked," she rasped.

Chat Noir was still holding her hair. "What?"

She wiped her mouth. "I barked all over the snow."

"I see that." He only seemed slightly amused. "Are you seriously making tree puns right now? How much wine did you drink?"

"The same amount as you." Her throat was on fire and her voice ravaged. She swallowed and smoothed her hair when he let it go. "I think the car got to me. These gravel roads are the worst."

"Are you going to be okay?"

She gave a weak nod and had to bite back a fresh round of tears. "How are you okay?" she asked when she managed to stand up straight.

"Maybe my body's more used to it. I get dragged to a lot of events—"

"Don't," Ladybug warned.

He apologized and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. Snowflakes spotted his hair and the shoulders of his black suit were already dusted white.

"I'm bigger?" he suggested instead and gave her a soft smile. "Poor little beetle."

She wiped snot from her nose. "Are you mad at me?"

"What?" Chat Noir's tail flicked and his cat ears went straight. "No."

"You called me beetle." Tears sprung into her eyes again and she had to stifle a fresh sob. Curse alcohol.

"Hey, hey… I'm not mad. Please don't cry, bugaboo."

"Don't call me beetle."

"Okay, I won't. I'm sorry." And then he drooped, sad-catting all over the place.

Exhausted and guilt ridden, Ladybug leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his middle, trying to squeeze the sad out.

He flopped over her. "I'm sorry about the wine."

"Me too."

The rest went unspoken.

It took over an hour to arrive at the police station. Ladybug spent the entire ride hunched over her knees, slowly sipping on a bottle of water Chat Noir held for her.

When the policeman opened the door to let them out, he went on alert.

"Wait, why are we stopping here? We need to get back to Paris."

"Paris is more than a twelve hour drive from here." The officer who had been driving stroked a mustache. "That's way out of our jurisdiction."

"Who cares about jurisdictions? France is in danger!" Chat Noir snapped. "Don't you guys have a private jet we can use?"

The policeman gave a snort while the other burst into laughter. "Who do you think we are?"

Ladybug's heart raced, staring as Chat Noir went red in the face, embarrassed.

"A helicopter?" he asked instead, sounding sheepish.

"They're usually reserved for search & rescues."

"We need to rescue Paris!" Chat Noir's tail flicked angrily even though his face was still red. "Hawkmoth isn't going to stop until he finds us."

"Hold tight, kid. There's red tape to get through."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"It's okay, Chat Noir," Ladybug said quietly. "Let them do their job. Paris will hold until we get there."

He turned to her, still flushed and the cat ears went flat against his head. She swore for a second he was going to hiss.

"Let's just rest in the station until we can figure this out," she said, feeling nearly a million times better now that they weren't moving. "I need a minute."

He went soft at that. "Okay. You aren't going to bark again are you?"

She let out a chuckle. "I knew you'd like that one. No, I think it was mostly the motion."

Chat Noir gave a small nod as they followed the police into the station.

Inside, it was quiet. Nothing like the stations in Paris with their constant activity. The men and women working stared at them in amazement while the policemen who brought them in pointed out a bench and told them to hang tight.

Hair still coated in snow, Chat Noir grumpily took a seat and, without thinking, Ladybug ran her fingers over his head to dust it away.

His cat ear twitched under her palm and he went red all over again. "You sure you're good?"

She pulled her hand back and sat beside him before she started to scratch his chin. "Mmhm."

Fidgety, he grabbed his belt tail, twisting it in his lap. "This is dumb."

She leaned backwards, closing her eyes. "Not as dumb as wine."

"I'm really sorry. I thought-"

She batted a hand in his direction. "Stop apologizing. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions."

"I wasn't saying-"

"I'm just having some serious regrets and voicing them out loud. Completely not for your benefit."

"Regrets?"

The crack in Chat Noir's voice made Ladybug's eyes pop open. His cat ears had gone back again and his eyes shifted as soon as she met them, falling to the twitching tail in his hands.

She could tell he desperately wanted to address the moment she was trying to avoid. It hurt, hurting him over and over. She tried to find something to say, but how could she explain about her heart and his and what would happen if he knew…

Swallowing, she opened her lips only to hear him gasp.

He was on his feet in one swift motion, stalking to the television on the wall. She swore if he really were a cat, hackles would have risen between his shoulder blades.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Marinette!"

Ladybug's heart stuttered to a stop. It took nearly a minute before she followed his gaze and found her parents on the television screen.

Relief swept over her for so many reasons.

She joined Chat Noir below the television, taking in the caption below her parent's faces.

_Dozens reported missing in the absence of Ladybug and Chat Noir._

Tom and Sabine looked unnerved, but strong, and in the top right hand corner above them was a picture of Marinette.

"We haven't seen our daughter since the akuma first attacked," Tom was saying. "We are asking, pleading, that anyone with any information to please call the authorities so we can find our little girl."

"Of course." The camera zoomed out to show Nadia Chamack in the frame and behind them, the corner of the street the bakery should have stood on was now just a grove of trees. "This is the first time Ladybug and Chat Noir have disappeared during an akuma attack. Why-"

"They'll be back," Sabine interrupted before a question could emerge. "And they'll bring my daughter back."

Whatever words followed were muted by the look on Chat Noir's face when he turned to Ladybug, pupils wide and frightened in his mask.

"Marinette and dozens of people are missing," he said, guilt creeping into his voice, "and we…"

Her heart thumped, pounding until it reached her fingertips. "We'll get them back, Kitty. I promise."

She reached for his hand, taking his clenched fist and unwinding his fingers into hers.

_I'm right here, _she squeezed into his palm. _I'm okay._

"The displacement of national monuments and homes may account for the number of missing persons, among them well-known teen model, Adrien Agreste."

Ladybug nearly squeezed off Chat Noir's hand when Adrien's face appeared on the screen and her thumping heart sunk into the pit of her stomach.

"Adrien…" she squeaked.

Chat Noir squeezed her hand back.

"His father, world famous fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste, was unavailable for comment."

Another squeeze.

Ladybug turned to her partner as his eyes glued to the screen, back tense and ears raised to take everything in. She felt sick again.

"Some theorize those missing may have gotten lost in the ever-changing landscape caused by the akuma," Nadia continued, "while others believe the missing persons have changed into landscape themselves. With Paris's beloved heroes nowhere to be found, the president has just declared a national state of emergency."

"The helicopter will be here in ten minutes," a voice came from behind them.

They both turned from the screen. The policeman who had picked them up seemed to look at them differently now, as if they were the ones about to give him orders instead of the other way around.

Ladybug dropped Chat Noir's hand. "We'll be ready," she said, making her voice as professional as possible. She straightened herself and tried to keep the emotion creeping onto her face at bay. "Can you point me to the restroom?"

"Ladybug?" asked Chat Noir.

"You should go too," she told him, keeping her voice steady. "Recharge."

He gave a nod, but his ears told another story.

Once she was in the bathroom and sure the stall was locked, Ladybug released her transformation. A glow surrounded her and Tikki spun into her vision.

"Are you okay?"

Marinette shook her head as she dug a macaron from the pocket of her Ladybug sweatshirt. She rubbed her makeshift mask to keep back the threat of tears.

"Adrien," she choked. "We have to get him back."

"I'm sure he's fine," said Tikki. "Once you defeat the akuma, everything will go back to normal."

"I'm terrible," Marinette cried. "He's missing, or hurt, or worse-what if he's a bush or a tree and I almost kissed Chat Noir?"

Tikki floated down to pat her cheek. "Let's just focus on getting back to Paris right now."

"I'm the worst Ladybug there ever was. I threw up! I let Adrien go missing and I _tried _to kiss _Chat Noir_. If he finds out I'm me and we… the world... I, Tikki, I…"

"Shhhh," the kwami soothed. "One step at a time, Marinette. And you are not the worst Ladybug, not even close."

Marinette gave her a skeptical scowl.

"Focus," Tikki repeated.

"Okay, fine." She took a deep breath. "Focused."

"And it wouldn't have been the first time you've kissed Chat Noir either."

"Tikki!" Marinette slammed her palms into her heat filled cheeks. "Not helping."

"I know. I'm not encouraging it, just trying to put things into perspective."

Her heart sunk. "Like the end of the world?"

"That was one timeline," said Tikki. "We've already moved past that point. But we can talk about that another time." She finally shoved the macaron into her mouth.

"He looks like Adrien," Marinette whispered. "When he's not transformed, his eyes..." She ran her fingers down her face. "Alya was right."

"But Adrien is way cooler, right?" Tikki said, grinning a little.

Marinette squished her cheeks between her hands. "Adrien doesn't even have to try." And then Chat Noir popped into her mind, flashing muscles and she giggled. "Unlike someone else. Why is that cute? I should not think Chat's showing off is cute right now."

"I blame Plagg for that."

"The showing off or the cute?" Marinette asked, happy to tease her kwami, despite the blush still rising in her cheeks.

"Both. But they both make sense for Chat Noir too."

Marinette felt her heart stop and her hands dropped from her face. "That's right… sometimes I forget you know who he is."

Then her mind raced, wondering how Tikki would know what Chat Noir was like in his civilian life unless she had a chance to get to know him…

"Stop," she scolded herself.

"I'm ready," said Tikki.

"Spots on."

Ladybug didn't have the liberty to think of such things at a time like this.


	7. Your udder favorite

~.*~*~*.~

Him

~.*~*~*.~

He could not stop thinking about her. A strange weightlessness pulled Chat Noir's stomach upward as he floated among the clouds.

Literally.

The condensation of a cumulus spattered across the window of the helicopter as it took them over mountain tops and fields and winding roads. The early morning sun was rising, leaving the sky painted in pink and orange. Chat Noir pressed his nose against the glass, finding bits and pieces of Paris in the forest, far from home.

He wondered if Marinette was there somewhere, lost like they had been. Maybe not far from the home they had found in the woods. Alone. The thought made him sick.

A light clear of the throat drew his attention away from the window.

Ladybug's foot bounced impatient over her crossed leg, arms folded over her chest, staring at him. She pouted, her adorable bottom lip sticking out as she reached for his tail to pull him into the seat beside her, grumbling for him to put on a seatbelt.

The whole thing reminded him so much of his classmate that his thoughts immediately went back to her.

"I keep thinking about Marinette," he said, rubbing a sheepish hand behind his head and turning red for two very different reasons as Ladybug buckled a seatbelt over his lap.

"Don't," Ladybug snapped. She immediately went pink in the cheeks. "I mean, she's going to be fine. We're going to fix this."

Chat Noir pulled his tail into his lap, twisting it, trying very hard not to overthink things, which meant:

"This akuma is a plane in the neck."

Immediately Ladybug pulled out an eye roll. "We're in a helicopter."

"Okay, you got me." Chat Noir flashed a grin. "I knew that one wouldn't take off."

"Oh my God," Ladybug groaned.

He immediately felt the tension in his chest release. "Why did the helicopter get sent to his room?"

"No."

"C'mon, bugaboo, humor me."

"How long is this flight again?" Ladybug called to the pilot.

"We're twenty minutes out."

When Ladybug sunk back into the seat with a loud grumble, Chat Noir grinned. "He had a bad altitude."

"Chat Noir."

"Oh, I have another one… how can you tell when a plane gets tired?"

Ladybug's polka dotted hands covered her face.

"It starts soaring."

"I miss the tree puns."

"I knew you wood."

Ladybug uncovered her face to pinch his side. "I'm going to send you soaring in a minute!"

"No need." Chat Noir snapped her hand from his ribs and wiggled his brows at her. "I'm already on cloud nine."

She tweaked his nose so hard it hurt.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop! I'm sorry!" He rubbed his nose when she released it, feeling tears budding in his eyes. "So mean."

"We should start talking strategy," Ladybug said, suddenly all business even though the dusting of pink had yet to leave her cheeks. "What do we know about this akuma exactly?"

"Treehugger."

"Is that official?"

He shrugged. "Go for the bullhorn?"

"I mean, what do we know about her powers? Obviously she's bringing Paris to the forest and the forest to Paris."

"She's got a green thumb?"

"I swear, Chat."

"I'm serious," he said. "Remember the trees? They didn't just appear. They were growing."

Ladybug seemed to think that over for a minute, her blue eyes wandering back and forth in space. "Did you see her change anyone into anything?"

"No."

"So how do we account for the missing persons?"

"Besides us? I… they were teleported? We sorta came in with the Eiffel Tower, right?"

"Then why weren't there any other people in the forest?"

Chat Noir thought for a long time, imagining Marinette again, searching for her parents through the wilderness, determined to do something. He felt antsy.

"What if they just wandered off?" he asked.

"We would have seen something, Chat. Someone." Ladybug turned to gaze out the window as clouds whipped by.

"I really want to say I'm stumped," he said, "but...puns."

Her foot kicked the side of his boot while a smile curled the corner of her mouth.

"So the only evidence we have of her powers is teleportation and growing trees. And the only people we saw her attack was...us." Ladybug's nose scrunched and Chat Noir felt heat run through his limbs as she thought it out.

The news said there were at least a dozen people missing. Just because they only reported about two didn't mean…

"Penny for your thoughts, LB?" he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

She seemed to shake off the deep thought in an instant. "Don't get hit."

He gave her a two finger salute.

"I'm serious, Chat Noir. You can't be the fall guy today. We've been gone too long. Too much is at stake."

"But I'm always falling for you," he joked. Ladybug did not appreciate his wink and he sighed, realizing he had crossed over the line again.

"I won't get hit," he said in a far more serious tone. "This kitty is as agile as a…cat."

"Redundant," said Ladybug.

"And obvious."

She smiled for him and it lit up his world.

Then the world shook.

Or rather the world far beneath them jerked closer and Ladybug's fingers had clamped into his thigh.

"What is that?" the pilot gasped.

"Ladybug's hand on my thigh!" almost, almost squeaked out of Chat Noir's mouth, but luckily she spoke up first, releasing him.

"The akuma!" She unbuckled her seat belt and pressed her face against the glass as a vine barreled at the helicopter. "Why is she this far from Paris?"

Chat Noir swallowed back his shock and managed to unbuckle his own seatbelt just as the helicopter jerked again. His backend lifted off the seat, nearly floating, and his hand slammed against the metal roof.

A long vine screeched against the window. The moment it disappeared, another came in its place, slapping at the tail end of the helicopter enough to turn them midair.

Ladybug and Chat Noir slammed sideways into the wall of the helicopter and then backward into the floor, a tangle of limbs as the pilot struggled to right them before it spun completely out of control.

"You okay?" Ladybug asked Chat Noir, grasping the seat to climb off of him.

Flushed, he managed a grunt. "Do you think she came looking for us? Can Hawkmoth control her from here?"

"Nothing about this akuma makes sense." Ladybug's hand was already on her yo-yo and her game face was on.

"You ready for this?" he asked her, nerves licking up his limbs.

"Let's make this quick."

Chat Noir unbelted his staff. "Gotcha. Mr. Pilot, sir, we're going to need you to drop a bug-bomb."

"What?" the pilot called, maneuvering to dodge a growing tree. "This is insane!"

"Just let us out here," Ladybug said. "The akuma should leave the helicopter alone once we leave."

"We don't have parachutes. It's too dangerous! You could get sucked into the blades!" yelled the co-pilot.

"I think we can pass on the parachutes then." Chat Noir expanded his staff and gave a sideways glance to Ladybug. "Vines?"

She nodded. "Vines."

"Open the door, s'il vous plait."

"But…."

"It's okay, sir, we're superheroes," said Ladybug.

"And this cat's got nine lives."

"Pretty sure you're down to three."

Chat Noir laughed as the door began to open and a blast of wind snapped at their faces.

"We're still a good way from Paris!" shouted the co-pilot as the helicopter jerked sideways. "It'll take hours on foot!"

"Not for us!" Chat Noir shouted back, giving Ladybug a wink.

She gave him her hand and they grasped each other's wrists just as a vine snapped from the earth.

They leapt into the sky.

Wind bit at Chat Noir's cheeks and rushed into his ears. Everything was loud and a sudden terrible clunk sounded just as his baton caught a massive growing vine. He grasped his baton with his other hand, Ladybug attached. Her yo-yo shot out, wrapping around the moving plant and she swung free of his grip, straddling the vine like a horse.

Chat Noir snapped his head back to the terrible gut-wrenching sound of warping metal and saw the helicopter going down.

The tip of the vine they hung on had tangled into the helicopter's blades and smoke rose as the engine fought to keep going through the jam. The vine snapped and then froze, as if it had finally finished its accelerated growth and found its permanent home in the sky. (So the plants weren't "aware" at least, Chat Noir noted.)

The helicopter gave a final sputter and dangled helplessly a mile above the earth.

"I'll get the pilots!" shouted Ladybug. "Look out for Treehugger!"

"Perfect name, right?" he called back. He swore he could see her eyes roll even though he was watching her back, swinging up the vines to reach the helpless helicopter.

Chat Noir quickly turned his attention to the base of the vine and loosened the tension on his baton, allowing it to slide down the massive plant until he was able to take foot on a protruding branch. He snapped his baton closed and tucked it behind his back.

He tried hard not to think of the last time he dealt with a massive vine and the overwhelming fear that he would fail, and the last time he'd see Marinette was when he'd caused tears to stream down her face. He shook his head and brought himself to the present.

"I'm gonna guess that wasn't just a lucky shoot at a random helicopter," he called down to where he guessed the akuma was hiding, "and you were trying to root us out."

Nothing but the sound of metal and Ladybug's distant shouts to the pilots answered him.

Pouncing to the next branch of the vine, he called down to the much too still treetops: "Nothing? That was two puns and they rhymed!"

Chat Noir leapt like his namesake from one branch to the next, green eyes scanning the depths of the forest canopy. The mountains were far off now, only tiny bumps in the horizon and this close to the city the ground below was clear of snow. Farmland and quaint French villages were scattered among the bare trees and evergreens and, if he squinted just a little, he saw a darker spot, just a hint of movement through the foliage below him.

"There she is."

He reached back for his baton the same moment a tree grew beneath him.

Branches bloomed from the massive trunk like a redwood on a high-speed timelapse. It plowed into the vine and shoved Chat Noir off his perch and onto a newly grown limb. His claws dug into bark, scrambling to stay on as the tree catapulted toward the sky. Sticks scratched at his suit and one sliced into his cheek enough to draw blood, but all he could think about was Ladybug and the pilots.

He watched as the vine holding the helicopter bent and snapped in two, sending the smoking helicopter toward the earth. It groaned as gravity pulled it down, metal blades still attempting to whirl as pieces of vine halted their progress.

"Ladybug!" he screamed and right before he took the leap after it, he spotted (ha!) red swinging from a tree branch that had expanded above him. Ladybug was holding two full grown men: one on her back and another under her arm.

Chat Noir climbed toward her as the massive tree continued to expand. "LB!"

He was worried for a moment the tree would never stop and she would be moving away from him forever, until it broke the atmosphere. The air grew thinner and the bite of winter wind shook the newly formed leaves until they let go of their branches and twirled in a whirlwind around him.

Digging into the bark, he continued his climb and breathed a sigh of relief when he could hear Ladybug's voice calling his name.

"On my way!" he yelled up before peering down. The trunk of the tree had stretched so wide that it took over the forest it had sprung from. At the base, smaller trees had been leveled, lying horizontally where they had once stood tall, and a puffy white cloud hovered below its lowest branches.

"Wow," he breathed.

This akuma was definitely a powerful one. He could only imagine how much damage might ensue if Mayura turned this massive tree into a sentimonster to help.

"Gonna keep that thought to myself," he muttered as his claws dug into another branch.

By the time he got close enough to Ladybug to help, he took a ragged breath and spat, "I'm winded," just as another gust burst through the branches.

"We need to get the pilots to safety," said Ladybug, voice every bit the super hero. One was holding a jacket tight over a cut in his arm and the other was unconscious on her back, a bruise blooming above his brow.

"On it," said Chat Noir. "I know I'm not as pretty a ride as the Lady, but…" He jabbed a thumb at his back.

Ladybug snuck behind him and snagged his belt-tail one-handed, yanking it off his waist.

"Uh…"

"To keep pressure around your arm while you hold on," she was already telling the conscious pilot.

Chat Noir yanked it from her hand and helped the pilot tie it on. "I feel violated."

"So do I," said the pilot, eying the belt warily.

"Okay, you're good. Hop on. We've got a lot of trunk to deal with."

Once the pilot was on his back, he cast Ladybug a look. Her eyes were working over the tree to the forest below, calculating.

"You look like you've got a plan, m-" he cleared his throat, catching himself. "Care to share? Because I'm stumped."

"You've used that one already, twice," she said.

"Ugh, sorry so unoriginal, LB. That climb was no joke. I'm bushed."

Even though she rolled her eyes, he caught a hint of her smile. Worth it.

"Why isn't she attacking us?" Ladybug murmured, eyes glued back to the earth below.

Chat Noir adjusted the pilot on his back with a grunt. "You mean the tree was a peace offering?"

"I mean we're vulnerable and she's not taking advantage."

"Yet," he said. "I get the sense she's a very patient gardener. Gonna wait until the right time to prune."

"That's what I'm afraid of," said Ladybug. "We need to get these men somewhere safe."

"Leave us at the base of the tree," said the pilot. "We already sent out an SOS. You two need your hands free."

Chat Noir met Ladybug's eyes. "The miraculous cure will fix their injuries and send them back."

They both gave a nod.

"You're already hurt," she said, gesturing to his cheek.

He rubbed at the cut, giving a shrug. "Just a scratch."

"Just be careful, Kitty."

"Don't worry, Bug. This cat always lands on his feet."

As he slid down a branch, careful with the cargo on his back, he heard Ladybug snort, "I've seen evidence to the contrary."

It took them nearly ten minutes to make it halfway down the mountain-sized tree and there was nothing, no sound beyond the wind, their climbing and the grunts of the injured pilot.

"This akuma is creeping me out," Ladybug said, swinging slowly from branch to branch with the unconscious co-pilot on her back, eyes darting, ever vigilant.

Chat Noir gave a nod as he leapt onto another limb. "She's got a guerilla warfare kinda thing going on. Hit and run."

"Why didn't she come for us sooner?"

"Think there's a chance she's rogue?"

"She started off in Paris. Seems unlikely," said Ladybug before she let herself down from yet another branch, dangling slowly from her yo-yo string like a spider.

"Maybe she wanted to wear us down first, strand us in the forest without food or water? Hope we didn't get much sleep."

For some reason, Ladybug's cheeks had flared up by the time Chat Noir had reached her. He tried not to read too much into it.

"You okay?" he asked. "Fully recovered?"

She gave a hum, avoiding his gaze and he tried not to read into it, the memory of her flushed with alcohol, wine basking his lips.

They both lowered down to the next limb, finally touching the top of the forest canopy below the massive tree. Birds called out, crying for the homes and nests flattened by the massive trunk.

"Who knew you could deforest a forest with a forest?"

"Kind of defeats the purpose of tree hugging," grumbled Ladybug.

Chat Noir grinned before casting a look over his shoulder at his passenger. "Doing alright, sir?"

The pilot on his back gave a nod and adjusted awkwardly. "I'll feel better once we're on solid earth. Flying is a bit more comfortable."

"I don't think he's enjoying the kitty-back ride, bugaboo."

"What a surprise," Ladybug said flatly even though Chat Noir swore her cheeks went pink again.

Maybe it was just wishful thinking that the near-kiss still had her unnerved, but either way he enjoyed how pretty she looked when she got bashful. He had fallen in love with her confident determination, but the softer moments were so rare that they might have hit him even harder.

She's in love with someone else, he had to tell himself. Again and again.

They made it to the ground without any further sign of the akuma. The tree trunk's base was as wide as a football field. The pilot settled beside his unconscious partner against the bark, Chat Noir's belt-tail still tied tightly around his arm.

"You want this…?" he asked, giving his arm a light lift.

"Yes," said Chat Noir.

"You'll get it back when we defeat the akuma," Ladybug scolded. "Sir, it's best you keep pressure on. That gash looked pretty deep."

Chat Noir's ears went flat. "I feel naked."

"Bobcat Noir," Ladybug snorted.

He stuck out his tongue in disgust before turning to the foliage. "Should we wait for her to come to us?"

"I hate the idea of leaving them here for her to use as bait," Ladybug said, yo-yo twirling absently around her hand, head gesturing back to the two men at the base of the tree.

"But?"

"I'm trying to figure out their strategy. It'd be helpful to know if it's Hawkmoth's or the akuma's. Hawkmoth wouldn't hesitate to use them, but a rogue akuma...I'm not sure if that's worse or better."

"I thought we decided she wasn't rogue since she started in Paris?"

"She hasn't said a thing about our miraculous."

"Maybe Hawky finally realized it was redundant."

"Maybe…" Ladybug looked deep in thought for a moment. "Let's go on the offensive and root her out."

"Root." Chat Noir grinned and flicked his staff. "Gotcha. _Stick_ together?"

"You dork," she said affectionately. "Always."

He went warm all over and tried to keep his head cool. "Let's keep a sightline between the trees. I'll take the top?"

"Probably better I top. I'm a little more agile in the branches."

"I will gladly bottom, then." Heat swam up to his ears when Ladybug stared at him in disbelief, completely pink. "I meant take the bottom!" he sputtered, "I mean, under you! under ground ! Not underground, on the ground. I'll do the ground! Scout the ground!"

A snort broke out from the pilot behind them.

"No more puns," Ladybug said, trying to sound firm, but her voice caught in the middle.

"I swear, that was completely unintentional. You said you'd t-" Chat Noir stopped himself. Remembering how she'd worded her position made it worse. His face went on fire and he hooked his arm around it. "Going now."

The cold wind against his face did nothing to quell the heat. Chat Noir catapulted for what seemed like an eternity before he heard Ladybug catch up, her light tread bouncing against the treetops above him.

"Don't go so fast," she snapped down at him in a whispered hush.

"Sorry," he squeaked. Why did everything seem to have a double entendre? He shook the thought out of his head and cleared his throat. "See anything?"

"Some snapped branches, footprints. I'm sure she went this way."

They moved like a single unit despite all the awkwardness, his body her shadow beneath the forest canopy until it was gone.

They broke out into rolling hills of farmland. Chat Noir came to a stop as a herd of cows meandered past and Ladybug dropped delicately to the ground by his side.

"Well," he said, clearing his throat again and not daring to look at Ladybug directly, "if she went this way she sure can moo-ve."

Laughter erupted by his side, so sweet and genuine that he had to look at her.

"What?" he asked.

"You," Ladybug giggled, wiping at her eyes. "You are so ridiculous, Chat Noir."

He smiled even though he still hadn't quite worked off the embarrassment from before. "I'd like to think I know how to lighten the moo-d."

"You're milking it now," she snorted.

If his tail has been attached, it would have flicked with giddiness. There were very few things that ranked higher than Ladybug punning with him.

"You got beef with me, LB?"

She went silent, eyes widening at something in the distance. "I think I was right about the akuma."

Chat Noir followed her gaze. A row of trees seemed to be springing up in a path, their branches reaching into the sky. A barn creaked and moaned as tree roots ripped into the foundation and horses sprang free, whinnying and galloping away from the rising forest.

"She's headed for Paris," said Ladybug.

From atop the hill of clear land, they could see the city, just a small gray patch nestled among the green in the distance.

"Home sweet home," Chat Noir said dryly. "Why is she showing us the way?"

"Good question. I don't like it."

"Maybe Hawkmoth is too lazy to leave?"

"Or he wants this over as much as I do."

The cow puns seemed far behind them, her voice stern and tired.

"So we follow the trees?" he asked, watching as they continued to spring up in a neat line, growing years tall in minutes.

"I don't know. It's probably a trap."

Before he could stop himself, his fingers had found the edge of her hand, just above the base of her pinky. "I'm with you no matter what."

She twisted her hand until it nestled in his. "I know." She gave him a squeeze. "Let's go."

"After moo."

Ladybug pinched his palm even though she was trying her best not to bust out laughing.

Chat Noir smiled. "I'm going to make a mental note that cow puns are your udder favorite."

"They're legen-dairy."

With that, Ladybug threw him a wink and tossed her yo-yo until it connected with a growing tree. She took off through the sky, over the cows, and Chat Noir wondered how he was ever going to get over her after this.


	8. Tree for the taking

~.*~*~*.~

**Her **

~.*~*~*.~

Pastures broke into hamlets and trees popped up along what Ladybug was sure was the south end of the Seine river. They had passed the famous Fontainebleau palace, its old stone uprooted before it popped out of existence.

"I'm a little nervous about what Paris is going to look like when we get there," Chat Noir had said when a forest sprung up in its place, quickly taking over the manicured grounds.

The akuma had attacked the palace from afar. They couldn't find her, just her ever growing trail of trees.

Ladybug had had it.

"I am so done," she growled, swinging among the newly growing trees along the river. One sprouted up from the center of the water.

"It's like she's dropping breadcrumbs," said Chat Noir, ears twitching as he catapulted ahead of her. He extended his staff, balancing atop of it on all fours to get a better look. "We're just about to hit the 'burbs."

"She's leading us to Hawkmoth," Ladybug muttered.

"And Mayura," Chat Noir echoed darkly as his baton let him back down to ground level. "I've got a bad feeling about all these trees. Quaint though."

"The trees?" Ladybug asked, hearing his voice go flat. It wasn't something she got to hear often, those moments he let down his guard (the humor or the anger) and something sad poked through.

"The town. Being out of the city. I wouldn't mind living out here someday."

"You wouldn't miss Paris?" Ladybug couldn't imagine living anywhere else. She loved the city, the bakery, the plants on her balcony and the busy streets filled with people.

"I'd miss the lights," he said. "My friends, of course, and the food. The Eiffel tower. You."

She flushed and threw her yo-yo at a nearby tree, letting it connect, but before she swung away she gave him a long look. "So why would you want to leave?"

He gave a shrug. "I don't know. Sometimes I just want things to be slower, you know? Not quieter, definitely not quieter. Just less."

"And here I thought you lived for the action," she teased, although her voice had gone quiet by the end. For the boy underneath the mask, the one akumatized in another timeline.

"Oh, never fear, this cat is still all about defending his territory. Speaking of..." He gave her a salute and expanded his baton. "We've got a mouse that's getting a bit too far in the maze."

"Maybe she smells the cheese you left out."

"Ha!"

Ladybug watched as Chat Noir catapulted away from her. Without the tail, he seemed less comical…the lines in his back more tense. And as _just a girl _she wished she could know more, to help him, but she wasn't _just _anything. She was Ladybug.

She thought about Master Fu and all the responsibility on their shoulders, and felt young.

The closer they got to Paris, the more dense the forest became, which was the exact opposite of normal. Pieces of asphalt crumbled above newly sprung tree roots. Cars were upturned from low growing limbs. Everything was green. They only knew where they were through her yo-yo's GPS (which finally worked, thank goodness).

In a commune just outside the city limits, an emergency shelter had been erected in the form of a giant tent. People were lined up, waiting to enter, homeless. When they caught sight of Ladybug and Chat Noir, they erupted in cheers.

A reporter waved them down and they gave a short explanation to where they had been and asked everyone to stay indoors, to which they were told: Paris had little indoors left.

"Is anyone missing here?" Ladybug had asked.

"We had a few school children that couldn't find their way home when the akuma first hit our area. But they've all been accounted for now."

Chat Noir shared a look with Ladybug, cat ears twitching. "So not one missing person?"

"Paris has located a number of theirs as well," said the reporter, "but I imagine they are going to take a little longer to find due to the nature of the city right now. At least we can be thankful that this akuma is mostly attacking buildings rather than the people."

_They won't find Marinette_, Ladybug thought. Were Chat Noir and her really the only ones teleported somewhere else?

She took a deep breath. "We need to end this ASAP."

"Sap," snorted Chat Noir.

She ignored him.

By the time they arrived in Paris, they couldn't be sure they _had_ arrived. The monuments of the city were gone, every bit of history wiped out by green. Vines crawled over cars and up the sides of the few buildings that remained. Grass sprung through cracked pavement, uplifted by the roots of newly grown trees. Tents were erected on every street corner and people yelled and hollered as they went by.

Ladybug wanted to tell them to return to their homes for safety, but there were no homes to return to.

"Welcome to the jungle," muttered Chat Noir.

Ladybug sighed as they perched together at the top of a tree. "Ready to rough it again?"

Chat Noir gave a choking cough.

She flipped open her yo-yo to find a map and looked at him out of the side of her eye, watching him turn red. "You okay?"

"Mmhm." He coughed a few more times and his face started to return to its normal color. "Yep. Just oaked a little."

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "At least you didn't bark."

"I wish I could've caught that on camera," Chat Noir said fondly.

"My puke?"

"Your pun." He looked all googly eyed and it was so cute she almost hit him.

Changing the subject, Ladybug grumbled, "I really don't like akumas that don't attack us."

"Hm." Chat Noir's ears twitched and Ladybug found she sorely missed the tail.

His hand cupped around his mouth. "Don't you want our miraculous?!" He shouted into the city-forest. "They're tree for the taking!"

She glared at him.

"What?" He shrugged. "Just helping moo-ve things along."

"That is not going to work without the cows."

"Worth a shot." His ears twitched as he surveyed the city, one hand tucked behind his back, ready to grab his weapon in a moment's notice. His face went quiet, still and concentrated. And for too long all Ladybug could do was watch him.

Until something came between a row of buildings at his side.

"Vines!" she shouted.

A tangle of greenery reached Chat Noir just as she did. Grasping his shoulders they both tumbled out of the tree and landed on the broken pavement beneath. Ladybug could feel the wind fly out of Chat Noir's lungs beneath her and her head whipped backwards to see the vines wrap around the limb they had been perched on and twist, slowly stopping their growth.

She rolled off Chat's stomach and crouched defensively, spinning her yo-yo in front of her.

He sprung to his feet, coughing a bit. "Did I ever tell you you take my breath away?"

"Not now, Kitty."

"Sorry." A grim smile slipped over his mouth. "Old habits die hard, LB."

"I don't—" She faltered and chopped a newly incoming vine in half with her spinning yo-yo string. "I'm not—it's the _timing_, Chat!"

The grim look on his face flashed into something much sweeter as he smacked another vine down with his staff.

"I'll keep that in vine."

At that, the vines seemed to stop growing, withering at their feet. Ladybug somersaulted behind a vehicle with Chat Noir on her heels.

"That pun was awful," she muttered.

He shrugged and looked borderline giddy. "Well, I can't be a ten all the time." He peeked over the hood of the car, searching, cat ears erect.

"Who ever told you that you were a ten?" Ladybug teased, looking around the back bumper.

The alleyway was filled with vegetation, vines crept up the sides of the buildings and brush sprung between cracks in the pavement. She couldn't make out the akuma.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a mischievous grin creep onto Chat Noir's face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He squatted back down to her level to give her a wink.

"Not really," she lied, feeling heat rush into her chest. _Focus,_ she told herself. She tore her eyes away from Chat Noir to watch the alley. "What is she waiting for?"

"Us to let down our guard, I'm assuming."

_Focus. Focus. Focus._

Ladybug shook away the suspicions popping into the back of her head. Now was not the time. They had to defeat the akuma… and Hawkmoth.

"He's leading us in," she said suddenly.

"I thought we already guessed that. Wait, he? You mean Hawkmoth. So her going rogue is out then?"

"I think…" Her mind raced and dread fluttered into her chest. "I think he's trying to figure out who we are."

Chat Noir's ears went back, eyes glued to the alley. Nothing more happened.

"Great," he muttered. "Weed us out, watch the news for missing persons. Narrow it down. Perfect."

"Not everyone will make the news," Ladybug said quickly, remembering how quickly Chat Noir had noticed Marinette. "Just families that come forward. And, I mean, it makes sense we'd see a report on Adrien, he's famous."

Chat Noir gave a loud snort. "For all we know he's just lost in that giant mansion of his," he said. "Maybe Hawkmoth has other connections. He could be a dirty cop for all we know."

"We need to stop the akuma before he figures us out."

"Ladybug," Chat Noir's voice went grave. "If he…we need to talk when this is over."

She knew exactly what he meant and their conversation in the bakery came back.

_"Master Fu knew who we were. The same rules don't apply anymore, do they?"_

Her heart pounded, remembering cold blue eyes and her real name on Chat Blanc's lips.

"Okay," she choked out. "We will."

Chat Noir nudged her shoulder with the side of his fist, green eyes still reflecting the dark alley ahead. "We've got this, LB."

Her heart fluttered in so many ways.

"Always," she whispered.

When they took the offensive down the alley, it was silent. Greenery had sprung everywhere: in the street, through broken windows, in the mortar of the bricks. The buildings looked like enormous chia pets.

"I should ask her for some gardening tips," Chat Noir mused when they came to a dead end. "Anytime I try to have a houseplant, it dies."

"You're probably over or under watering it." The yo-yo twitched in Ladybug's hand. "Let's try to find a better position."

Chat Noir snorted again, but whatever pun he'd imagined, he kept to himself this time.

They vaulted to the top of the building, crouching low on the roof. The heating system whirred noisily, attempting to work through the tangle of vines surrounding it.

The sky had begun to darken as evening approached and clouds moved in low overhead.

"I hope that's not rain," said Chat, bristling a little.

Ladybug usually liked the rain, but just the mention of it shot a pang through her heart. It reminded her of Adrien and thinking of him reminded her of Chat and wine and tears in cold blue...

"Ladybug watch out!"

The building beside them burst open, like it had been attacked from the inside, sending an entire wall hurtling above her.

She heard Chat Noir call on his cataclysm as he slammed her out of the way. Brick and mortar turned to dust over her head and before she had managed to regain her composure a tree sprung from where the building once stood, shooting parallel to the earth.

The trunk burst into Chat Noir's chest, pummelling him through the air so quickly that by the time she had shouted his name, he was nearly a block away.

His strangled shout was followed by a deep sickening sound that almost wasn't human.

Ladybug soared after him on her yo-yo string, not sure if the noises that followed were coming from her, him or the buildings decaying in the tree's path.

She searched for Treehugger, waiting for her to attack while they were shaken.

But she didn't.

Ladybug was left to find Chat Noir gasping for air, caught between the sharp needles of an evergreen and the wall of a building. She staggered to a stop, heart caught in her throat.

Bricks crumbled at his back from the impact as the tree expanded. The branches still grew, twisting and winding into a barrier between them. The wood of the trunk shredded beneath Chat's claws as he scratched into it in desperation, eyes wide and face purpling as it continued to crush him.

His name came out on air through Ladybug's lips, her vocal cords suddenly not working. Panic fled over her as her eyes darted for a solution, mind suddenly blank.

This was when the akuma would attack again. She had to act. Now. Get the akuma, purify it, fix him.

But the akuma was nowhere and after a moment, Ladybug could no longer bear to hear Chat Noir's terrible wheezing.

"Hang on, Kitty." She managed to choke out, trying her best to sound calm. "I've got you." She was about to call her lucky charm when the branches ceased their growth and shuddered to a pause.

Icy wind swept from the dark clouds above.

Desperate, Ladybug searched, eyes darting back and forth for something to free him. A piece of shrapnel lit up in her vision, sharp and heavy, lying in the debris from the collision and, with only the strength Tikki lended, was she able to chop through the tree in a few good strokes.

She pried away the branches, shoving her feet into the brick for support until the wood snapped and cracked just enough for Chat Noir to fall free.

He collapsed, eyes rolling into the back of his head, air wheezing terribly into his lungs. Ladybug whipped away from him, spinning her yo-yo defensively as she waited for the akuma to attack.

"Chat?" she called over her shoulder.

For a long time, he only coughed and gasped and then he went silent. He didn't move and neither did the akuma.

"Chat Noir!" Her voice cracked. "Please answer me!"

When nothing happened she finally turned all her attention toward him. He lied face forward, slumped over pieces of wood and brick. She collapsed on her knees beside him and heaved him into her arms.

His eyes seemed to roll back to life, head leaning into her chest. He sucked in a sharp breath.

"Owwwwwww."

Her heart missed a few beats. "You stupid cat!" she hissed, unable to find her own breath. "You scared me."

He squeaked out something that sounded remotely like an apology.

Ladybug scooped him over her shoulder, clinging tight to the staff strapped to his back to get him steady. Hisses and wheezes of pain shot out of him so oddly that she nearly lost any sense of calm. She shot out her yo-yo and took off, praying the akuma wouldn't follow and, if it did, that she would end this. Now.

"What is she waiting for?" she cried out loud, hearing her own voice go shrill. Her arm tightened around Chat Noir's back. "Chat, I swear if you're not okay."

His ring beeped in response.

"No, no no no," she groaned.

They took off, flying through the forest that was now Paris. Her eyes searched for a safe place, for the akuma, for anything.

"I'm okay," Chat Noir gasped into her back.

Ladybug could feel a strange shudder in each of his breaths.

"You are not," she managed to choke out. "You are not okay—you—it's, it's my fault. I was distracted, I—"

"I can fight," he wheezed.

"Shut up," she said. "You're going to transform back. You're out for this one, Chat. Do you understand me?"

A cough shuddered over her shoulder and a weird bubbling sound came up his throat.

"Chat."

"I think," he swallowed and gasped, "I might bark."

"Hold it in!"

"Ughhhhhh."

It felt like an eternity before she had put enough distance between them and the place the akuma attacked. Chat Noir had gone strangely quiet (maybe because he was trying not to puke) and he didn't protest about being carried, which just affirmed the fact that he was very not okay. His ring gave another beep.

"I have to hide you," she muttered, feeling tears bite at her eyes.

This is what Hawkmoth wanted. To root them out. _Root. Ha!_ She swore thinking about puns made her eyes sting more. She kept thinking of the look in Chat's eyes as he scrambled to breathe.

"Just… just leave me… I'll find a place," he choked out, squirming over her arm. His claws dug into her back, trying to lift himself off.

"I'm getting you somewhere safe."

"I'll transform back."

"It's fine, you've still got the other mask. Let me just find somewhere." She swallowed. "I told you not to be the fall guy today."

"Can't"—he coughed—"help myself."

Her eyes scanned the street and finally found it.

Beneath freshly sprung greenery there was a manhole cover, only half of it visible. Checking for any sign of the akuma, she lowered them carefully down into the brush, setting Chat Noir on the pavement so she could open it. Out of the corner of her eye she could see him struggle to rise to his knees, trying to hide the way his breath went oddly in and out of him.

"Stop squirming," she spat, wishing he had his tail to grab him by. She lifted his arms around her neck and scooped him bridal style. His ring chimed in her ear.

"If this didn't"—he winced and gasped—"hurt so bad, I'd think I'd gone to heaven."

"Yeah, you're fine," she muttered.

They dropped into the hole and Ladybug immediately recognized the sewer as the same one they had retreated to when they had battled Desperada.

"Déjà vu," Chat Noir said dryly. His eyes clenched shut.

"Let's get you to the locker room," said Ladybug, glancing over her shoulder. The lights in the tunnels flickered and deep roots had broken through the ceiling, reaching for the water below.

Nothing followed.

She hurried down the walkway and heard Chat Noir wince with each stride, even though he didn't complain.

"Here," she said, hitting her back against the door to the locker room, busting inside. She settled them on the ground. Chat Noir tried to sit up, but he hissed so loudly with pain that she wouldn't let him go.

"Ladybug," he gasped.

"I'm not hearing anything about how you want to fight, Cha—"

Her words sucked inward, the world pulled through her throat and into her lungs and everything ended.

Chat Noir was looking at her with nothing on but slim-fit dark-wash jeans, the hoodie she'd made, and Adrien Agreste's face.


	9. Evergreen

~.*~*~*.~

Him

~.*~*~*.~

A stifled scream ripped from Ladybug's throat.

Oh. Oh no.

Before Adrien could react the heels of her palms slammed into his side (like she was flinging away an enormous spider or something equally terrifying), throwing him from her lap.

He hit the floor hard. It felt like a bolt of lightning was striking his chest, stabbing it over and over. After he finally managed to find his breath again, he realized he'd been rolling on the floor, cheek digging into pavement as he squirmed in pain. He could hear his own voice muttering, disconnected.

"Ow, ow ow ow ow."

"Y-you, you, you're..." Ladybug sputtered on her feet, back against the opposite wall.

"Ma-urp!" Plagg flew to her with pure drama, bent in half. "Look what this kitten has done to me. I tell him not to be reckless, but he never listens and then we both suffer!"

Ladybug's eyes shot impossibly wider while Plagg nestled into her pigtails.

Adrien felt sick. Pain hissed through his teeth when he lifted onto his elbow. He touched his very bare, unmasked cheek bones and the world went sideways.

She knew. She knew.

She knew. And only one of the millions of thoughts that sprung into his mind managed to sneak out of his lips.

"Guess the cat's—"

Her head shook. "No."

"—out of the bag?"

She let out a sharp squeak. "Y-you pun a said, pid a dun, a pun you did." Her hand clapped over her mouth and she turned her back to him. "Do not Yoda!"

Adrien could only manage a weak whisper. "I can't decide if I should say cat got your tongue or not."

She whipped back around and seemed to go into shock all over again. "Chat Noir?"

He immediately sobered. "I'm so sorry, Ladybug."

Tears sprung into her eyes and her hands went over her mouth for a long moment before they slid down again.

"Adrien?"

She said his name like she knew him, more than all their chance meetings, like she was happy and sad and terrified all at once. Her head shook with feverish denial.

"I thought, I…" Adrien rolled onto his back, rubbing his face. "I thought the mask Marinette made me was still—I got it all wet and I left it—she worked so hard on it—I'm so stupid."

"No." She slammed her palms into her eyes. "No, no, no, no no. You're, no, there's no way, you couldn't—I've seen you both, I…"

Then something seemed to click. Her hands fell away from her face and she zoned onto his bare knuckles and the silver ring on his finger.

Her mask suddenly shot up with her brows. "You, you were..." Then her mask sunk low with the slow realization of probably a thousand things. "Chat Noir!"

Adrien winced, his own mind playing over all the scenarios she could be thinking of. "Yes?"

"Adrien!"

He forced himself to sit up even though every muscle protested, cheeks puffing out with pain. Suddenly Ladybug's trembling fingers were on his back, helping him. A blush blossomed under his skin. Without the suit, he felt naked.

"I know you didn't"—he gasped, clutching his ribs—"you didn't want to know. I'm really sorry."

"I just can't—you're—that means, that means—" Her hand slipped from him once he was upright and she bolted back to her feet. "I need to head my wrap—wrap my round— wrap around you—this! around this!"

Adrien bit his lip as pain and embarrassment mingled in the form of hot nausea.

Ladybug started to pace, hands flailing. "But I—you were both there when—no, you had to be—Chat was late, but—Adrien's bodyguard was a gorilla—you were together!"

"I…"

For a second Adrien thought he shouldn't admit it, that maybe he could undo everything, but she was staring at him and he couldn't hide his face.

"That was Wayhem," he admitted, breathless. "He dresses… exactly like me."

"Everyone dresses like you," she shrieked. "You're a model! You—you actually are a walking advertisement! And you're Chat Noir! How do you—when do you—your schedule is —where do you time the find?"

"I get left in my room a lot…" Adrien muttered.

Ladybug's hands flew to her cheeks and she continued her back and forth march. "That means when he—that you—when we—I almost—wait, we did—" She froze as her face went bright red and she let out a weird deflated squeal.

Her cheeks squished between her hands until her mouth puckered like a fish. Then, with a flash of panic, she squatted to Adrien's level and flipped the hood of the Marinette™ sweatshirt over his head. She yanked it down and pulled it back up again until his hair was a mess and sticking with static in every direction.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee—"

"Ladybug?"

"You're Chat Noir!" She jumped backwards like she had found out all over again. "But you, you were Aspik! Chat was with us—wait no, he wasn't, you were—the locker, you—I said who I—and—did you?"

She looked shocked and mad (and maybe even delighted?) all at once and seemed to come to some semblance of herself when she scolded, "Chat!"

"It's not like I could tell you…" Adrien muttered.

"You didn't need to tell her anything," piped in Plagg. "You should have just not been found and let her choose Luka from the beginning." He patted Ladybug's head. "He was quite the brat about that."

Adrien deflated, sure the wound to his ribs had let all the air out of his lungs. "I know, I…I thought maybe, you would… I was hoping—"

"You're Adri-A—the, the—" Ladybug gestured up and down his body, eyes wide again. "Boy!"

"Last I checked." He forced his best Chat-like grin, trying to de-escalate whatever thing she was going to scold him for next.

"No, the _boy_."

The grin immediately fell. "Uh..."

"_The_ boy."

"I…don't..." Whatever words Adrien had seemed to drain right out of him. He tried to find a more comfortable position now that she wasn't helping him sit up. His back hit the door of a locker and he let his head rest against it. He felt exhausted and overwhelmed and sad.

"I'm tired," he mumbled.

"You're hurt." Ladybug fell to her knees and shuffled close. She touched his forehead with her gloved fingers. They trembled across it until her palm cupped his temple.

He leaned into her touch without thinking.

"I'm the worst," he groaned and then sunk further into sadness, remembering what Plagg had told him when he suspected… His eyes were in danger of watering.

"I…" he swallowed, hard. "Do I have to stop being Chat Noir now?"

"I don't, oh no." Ladybug tugged her hand from his face, leaving his skin cold. "No, you, you're the best." Her hands flailed oddly between them. "I mean the worst—no, hot—agh—not the worst!"

"Except when he is," goaded Plagg.

Adrien let his face fall into his palms.

"Y-you're fine. Gah! You'll be fine! Let me, I just, the akuma..." Ladybug's voice fizzled out pathetically. "I have to get it."

"I know, I'm sorry I…" When he had peeked out of his fingers, he saw that she had stood, feet already pacing again. "Go, do what you do best, m'... "

Adrien stopped himself. He hadn't called her that for a long time and now probably wasn't the best time to bring it back.

"Ladybug," he said instead.

She met his eyes then, the blue behind her mask softening. "I'll fix this."

"I know." He gave her a smile, could tell she needed it. "You always do."

"Don't—don't say things." She groaned again, running her hand over her cheeks, dragging down her eyelids. "Like that." She peered at him through her fingers. "With that face."

Was she turning red? Adrien felt his own face go hot.

"Adorkable, isn't it?" said Plagg, peeking down from the top of her head. Ladybug actually glared up at him, like she was seething with some knowledge only the two of them shared. "I'm famished, do you happen to have any more camembert in there?"

Her blue eyes flickered back to Adrien as she opened her yo-yo and pulled cheese out of the magical abyss inside. Without taking her eyes off him, she reached over her head to hand it to Plagg and he dropped crumbles into her hair when he took a ravenous bite.

Adrien didn't know what else to say. Everything felt surreal and hazy.

"Didn't you say something about an akuma?" Plagg said through a mouthful.

"Right." Ladybug shook her head, pigtails bouncing his kwami loose. He fluttered down to Adrien's lap.

"Be okay," she told him, like it was a command. "Stay."

"Not a dog!" chirped Plagg.

"Plagg!" snapped Ladybug. The glare was back and she shook a finger at him as her cheeks puffed up with unspoken words. "Plagg."

"Ma-URP!" Plagg grinned. Ladybug glared harder, making him coo, "Bugaboo."

"Don't let anyone see him," she told Plagg. She gave Adrien one last look and began to back out of the locker room. Her shoulder blade slammed into the door and she let out a strange sounding chirp before turning the knob and stumbling back out into the walkway. The door shut between them.

She probably thought she was out of earshot when she let loose a loud squeak that rolled into hysterical laughter.

Adrien clutched at his side again, nausea climbing back up his throat. "Is... is she laughing at me?"

Plagg gave his knee a pat. "Oh, kid. You really are hopeless."

~.*~*~*.~

Her

~.*~*~*.~

It had begun to rain.

The dark clouds overhead let loose a dreary drizzle, filling the vanishing city with the sound of pitter-patters against wide reaching leaves.

Adrien.

Adrien. Adrien.

Adrien.

Ladybug nearly burst into laughter again as she swung into one of the few alleys left.

It was Adrien who had rubbed the chill from her arms. It was Adrien's heart beating under her ear. She'd been cuddling in the woods with Adrien. Holding hands with Adrien. Drinking with Adrien. Throwing up in front of Adrien! Almost kissing… she let out a hiccup and pressed her back against the wall.

She had fallen in love with Adrien twice.

...the girl I'm in love with…

It had broken her so completely and he had been talking about her all this time.

Ladybug gave herself a moment, just one minute to break down.

The two boys started to meld perfectly in her mind: the melancholy in Chat Noir's voice at the mention of his family, his Agreste ensemble (he asked for a freaking private jet!), Adrien's wink, his playful confidence, the way he threw himself in front of danger to protect her.

He was allergic to feathers!

Chat Noir wasn't irresponsible, he was a gorgeous gold statue! He was trying on her jewelry!

Adrien was in love with her. And she couldn't, she couldn't...

It was Chat Noir who gave her his umbrella and danced with her close, Adrien who handed her a red rose on the rooftop, who took blow after blow, who destroyed the world because he knew her name.

The lines began to blur so severely she couldn't unsee them. All of the parts of him as one. Of course he was her sweet kitty, of course he was the boy she loved… how could he not be?

A branch cracked from somewhere in the street.

Ladybug wiped rain and tears from her face and clutched her yo-yo, ready to let it swing loose.

She was alone. The akuma had to know that by now.

Ladybug thought back to the miracle box, still tucked safely in a drawer in her room in the middle of the wilderness. Even if it had been in Paris, who would she give a miraculous to now? Everyone she could think of had been found out. And now Chat Noir…

She was the guardian and she was already failing. How was she supposed to do this on her own?

Vines shot down from a broken window, wrapping around Ladybug's wrist before she could unleash her yo-yo. It squeezed, wrapping around her arm so tightly that it forced her to let go.

The yo-yo bounced against the pavement.

With a gasp, Ladybug pulled and used the force of the vine to lift her torso up and wrap her legs around the writhing plant, twisting it between her ankles until she was reaching forward and upside down. Her fingertips grazed her weapon and with another heave of her torso, she managed to snag it.

She flung it out and it wrapped around a tree limb on the other side of the street. Her body went with it, ripping the vine in two. She flung her other hand, feeling her wrist throb and ache from the force of breaking it out of the vine's grasp.

Her eyes darted, searching for Treehugger in the foliage, in the buildings, anywhere.

"Too scared to let your akuma fight in the open?" she screamed into the street where grass grew from cracks.

She perched on the tree limb. "Come on Hawkmoth. I know you want this over as much as I do," she taunted, voice going a bit shrill. "Or are you worried Treehugger's bark is worse than her bite?!"

Ladybug let out a sharp laugh which she cut short with a shaky breath. She could not lose it right now. Focus.

More snapping branches dragged her attention behind her and a shadow darted among a mass of shrubbery that had sprouted from the ends of a fire hydrant.

"I…my..." It was a small voice, a quiet hiss that seemed to stutter.

Then Ladybug saw her, the akuma.

Green arms slid with living ivy, lifting a bullhorn of wood and flowers to a mouth made of mushrooms and a tongue of leaves.

Through the bullhorn her voice came like wood crackling over a fire, like leaves crunching underfoot.

"My name is Evergreen."

Vines shot from her bare toes, which seemed to be made of moss. They sunk into the earth wherever she stepped, turning the pavement into dirt and grass.

Ladybug dodged the vines with a backflip off the limb of the tree. Her yo-yo caught on a streetlight that flickered on and off, casting shadows under the foliage and lighting up the drops of rain.

They shimmered like fireflies falling to the earth.

"I think I'll keep calling you Treehugger, if you don't mind," Ladybug huffed, lowering from the light. "Sounds cuddlier."

Evergreen lowered the bullhorn and her wrists grew saplings. With a pout of her mushroom lips, she blew them toward Ladybug. They caught on the frigid breeze and Ladybug could barely see them through the rain.

One hit the building beside her and it flashed out of existence. Forest sprung up in its place.

"You're not trying to send me back to the mountains, are you?" asked Ladybug. "Don't you want to grab my miraculous first?"

Evergreen didn't answer. Her eyes were like stones set into a mossy face.

Why did she seem so much more intimidating now that Chat Noir wasn't by her side?

End it. Quick, Ladybug told herself, remembering the way Chat's breath shuddered on her shoulder, how Adrien writhed on the ground in pain.

The bullhorn had to be the object. It was too obvious. Some disgruntled environmentalist that hadn't been heard. Perfect prey.

Ladybug gave her surroundings a quick glance, searching for a way to snatch the object and destroy it. Nothing stood out but a vine-covered Agreste billboard, with only the green of Adrien's eyes peeking through.

When she turned back around the akuma had disappeared.

"This is getting ridiculous," she groaned. She swung herself to the last spot the akuma had been standing, searched and found nothing.

"Lucky Charm!" she called, spinning her yo-yo into the sky.

The charm dropped from the air, sparking with magic and spotted with red and black. Ladybug caught it in the palm of her hand.

For a long moment she didn't believe it. She wiped rain from her eyes, not sure she was seeing clearly. But the charm remained and all the breath stuttered out of her. Her head snapped up in panic.

A loud crashing sound shook the ground under her feet.

"No," Ladybug gasped. "No, no no no no."

She clenched her hand around a string of beads that, even with their polka-dot camouflage, were all too familiar.

~..*~*~*.~

Him

~.*~*~*.~

"Adrien, don't be stupid, you're hurt!"

Adrien ignored Plagg's cries as he staggered along the wall of the sewers, using his elbow to support himself. The skin on his arm was raw, scraping the rough pavement with each step as he dragged himself along. The hoodie was long gone, discreetly tucked into a locker so it wouldn't give him away.

"Ladybug could be in trouble," he muttered. "If you won't transform me, I at least need to make sure she's okay."

"You're going to be a distraction," Plagg argued, fur ruffling on his back. "Didn't you see how dumb she was acting?"

Adrien pitched forward, feeling a sudden wave of pain. It dragged him down, some sort of heaviness that made him drop to his knees.

"Fine." He sucked in a sharp breath. "You win."

"I win because I'm right," Plagg said, floating between his eyes. "What has gotten into you?"

A laugh turned into something that sounded like a cross between a cough and a cry.

"It, it might be the last time," Adrien gasped, sliding his back into the wall, feeling pitiful. "I don't want it to be the last time, Plagg."

"You were right about one thing," said the kwami, landing on Adrien's knee. "She's the guardian now. Things are different."

"You," Adrien let his forehead fall in his palms. "You know her…"

"You know the rules."

Adrien let out a low snort that turned into a cough. Pain blackened his vision for a minute and he let his head roll back on his shoulders until the back of it hit the wall behind him.

"Things are different," he muttered.

"Adrien, this is messy business and you know it. Hawkmoth—"

"What if he"—Adrien winced and found it hard to suck in a breath—"finds out first?"

"And how will you knowing who the guardian is help anything?"

Laughter bubbled in his chest until it turned into a cough. "I don't, but—I thought—ha!" His eyes squinted shut and he let out a long low breath. "She" —he wheezed— "that's the third time since…"

He felt his mouth curl into a grin. He could count the times Ladybug stuttered on one hand…and almost all of them were around him, detransformed.

"She sounded like Marinette." He chuckled, shaking his head. "If Marinette is still missing, maybe..."

"No, not that again," Plagg said much too quickly. "Remember Multimouse? Not possible."

Adrien laughed again. "She called herself clumsy, I haven't heard her say that since day one. Ladybug is not clumsy, but Marinette..."

His hand scraped into his hair and when he opened his eyes the world seemed unsteady, hazy and too dark. "They wear the same shoes. They have the same history book…Tikki was at my school...all the miraculous holders are our friends...they have the same eyes."

He found himself smiling much too wide for the pain he felt. He was light and heavy all at once. His heart pounded in his ears.

"That's why—she's—she wore all those miraculous. She's s' smart, Plagg," he said, lips stuck together like glue. "She's amazing. I was right. It's been her all this time."

"Adrien, don't."

"Say Marinette is Ladybug," Adrien said, throwing his hand up dramatically. It quickly flopped forward between his knees and he gave an odd sharp laugh coated with bubbles.

"Something's wrong," said Plagg.

"Yeah there is," he slurred worse than after the wine and snorted when Plagg floated in doubles above his nose. "You can't say Marinette is Ladybug."

"Because she's not."

"No, 'cause you can't," Adrien felt absolutely giddy and he couldn't unsee it, the pigtails peeking under the hood Ladybug had made. The flustered mix of words after he'd booped Marinette's nose. "Cause Ladybug is Marinette."

"What do you know? You thought Ladybug was Chloe!"

"You just said Ladybug was Chloe...because she's not Ladybug," Adrien said, attempting to point a finger at the two Plaggs and not able to decide which one to pick, he let it fall back on his forehead as he laughed bubbles again. "Say Ladybug is Marinette. Say her name."

"Marinette," snapped Plagg. "See?"

"Altogether now," sang Adrien.

"This is ridiculous. You're not well, Adrien. Your mind is playing tricks on you."

"Just say Ladybug is Marinette," he said with a giggle. "It's so easy…"

He remembered the flush in Ladybug's cheeks whenever he mentioned his classmate, the way she tried to distract him to think of something else, how easily she snooped through her room. Her room.

The way Marinette took charge in the face of danger, how she tried so hard to take care of everyone else, she was her everyday...

"Because Ladybug is Marinette."

Tears burst into his eyes and the bubbling burst into coughs, wracking his chest and leaving his head full. He tasted metal and wiped spit on the back of his hand.

It came back red.

"Oh," he chuckled. "That… that's bad."

He grunted and rolled up his shirt to look at the place that throbbed with lightning strikes.

"Adrien!" cried Plagg.

A black bruise had bloomed under his skin, reaching under his ribs and down into his abdomen, like blood dripping on the inside.

Adrien let his shirt roll back down. The back of his head hit the bricks again and he closed his eyes.

"It'll be okay, she'll fix it," he mumbled, sloppily reaching into the air to pat Plagg's head. He couldn't find him and let his hand fall lazily to the floor.

"Just if…tell her I…tell her I love her…okay?"

His head rolled to the side, jolting him back awake enough to see the ceiling of the sewers crumble under the force of expanding tree roots. Water splashed up at him as chunks of cement hit the drain.

Rain poured in through the cracks, muffling sound.

Adrien felt Plagg phase into his shirt pocket.

He could barely keep his eyes open. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again he saw the akuma.

Vines reached up from the water to meet her moss covered feet. She seemed to be looking for escape, her gaze moving along the collapsed tunnel.

He was right there.

When she saw him, she froze and her stone eyes went still with the haze of purple.

No matter how Adrien tried, he could not lift his head from the wall.

The purple haze of Hawkmoth's presence left and the akuma stepped toward him, tiny trees growing in her green palms.

He let out a giddy snort. Fog filled the corners of his vision, seeping in.

"Son...of a...beech."


	10. Cat ch you later

~.*~*~*.~

**Her**

~.*~*~*.~

Each raindrop was a bullet.

Ladybug felt each one as they ricocheted off her mask, deadly beats of time that passed with every second she wasn't there to protect him.

The lucky charm felt slick in her hand and she was sure without the strength of her suit, the beads would have left bruises in her palm from how hard she clenched her fist, afraid to lose it.

"Be okay," she chanted, trying not to let herself think. "Be okay, be okay. Be okay."

Did he really still carry it around?

Adrien had told her he took it everywhere. She imagined Chat Noir, carrying a charm from Marinette into each battle they'd fought since. Had he had it with him this whole time? In the pocket of those slim-fit jeans under the rim of the sweatshirt she'd made him?

By the time she made it back to the street with the manhole, it had vanished.

The asphalt had caved in. Water rushed through the cracks, little waterfalls to the drain below. Tree roots reached through broken pavement and downed brush littered the walkway underground.

His name caught in her throat. She wasn't even sure which one she should call for. She couldn't give him away, if Hawkmoth found out…

Ladybug felt sick. She flung her yo-yo into a tree (there were so, so many) and slowly lowered herself below the earth. She had to climb over debris, leaping as silently as possible, the sounds of pebbles under her feet blended in with rushing water.

The locker room was blocked, littered in debris. With all her strength she heaved a hunk of concrete out of the way with her yo-yo string until she was able to reach the door.

When she pulled it open, she found no one.

Panicked, she flung open each locker. The clang of empty metal seemed to reverberate with each of her heartbeats.

She had to swallow back a cry. She had to find him, she had to.

"Plagg?" she called, desperate, hoping, voice choked and harsh. "PLAGG!"

Only the sound of rushing water and rainfall answered.

"Okay, okay, okay," she chanted, opening her palm to stare at the lucky charm. "Where is he?"

She flipped open her yo-yo, searching her map of the city for a signal, but there was none. He hadn't transformed back. Which meant he was still Adrien, which meant… her mind spun. Nothing lit up, no brilliant plan to tie to the charm resting in her palm.

"Ladybug!"

Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest at the sound of Plagg's voice. He floated at her from among the rubble, his bright eyes wide with panic.

"I stayed with him as long as I could. I couldn't get the miraculous without her noticing," he said, breathless. "Dumb kitten. He just had to try and find you. If he stayed put this wouldn't be happening."

Ladybug's stomach dropped, fears confirmed. "Which way?"

"Follow me!"

He took off, phasing through an enormous block of concrete and asphalt.

"Plagg!" she yelled through clenched teeth. "I cannot go through objects!"

He popped back through. "Oh, right. Above ground then. It's a mess down there."

Ladybug followed Plagg back to street level. Branches and brush reached through what was left of the asphalt. Everything was covered in puddles and mud. Cars were half sunk into the rubble or crushed beneath newly formed tree limbs. The few buildings that still stood were wrecked from the growing forest, swimming in vines. It seemed like something from a post-apocalyptic film, civilization taken back by nature.

Plagg was just a little zip of black, flittering with all his speed through the downpour. The camembert had definitely done its job recharging him. Without Tikki's help, Ladybug was sure she wouldn't have been able to keep up.

"Is he okay?" she managed to choke out.

Plagg stayed silent, just a stream of black in the rain.

"Plagg!"

He stopped suddenly and Ladybug had to drag her heels on the ground in order not to run into him. He turned, his green eyes narrowing at her face.

"Hawkmoth cannot get the cat miraculous."

"Why did she take him?" Ladybug asked. "Does she know? Are you sure she didn't see you?"

"I have no clue. Since when do akumas make any sense?"

He went silent after that and Ladybug went weak.

"Plagg, please tell me."

"It's bad." There was a little croak in the kwami's voice. "You have to fix him."

"I will." Her hand tightened around the lucky charm.

"Ladybug!"

Her heart jumped as Plagg phased through a tree, quick to disappear. She knew that voice. She felt like she hadn't heard it in a thousand years. Ladybug put a hand over her brow to block out the rain and saw figures running from what looked like a massive tent, erected as a temporary shelter.

Alya appeared through the downpour with an umbrella, phone already recording.

Nino was at her heels, clenching the hat on his head with his fists. Rain dripped from his nose.

"The akuma's got my bro Adrien!" he cried. "I think he's hurt!"

Alya pocketed her phone. "Can we help? Where's Chat Noir?"

"He's trying to cut her off," Ladybug lied, feeling her heart sink.

What would they do if they knew who he really was? For a split second she remembered Adrien, slipping out of class, showing up late so many times (right behind her!) with his (super believable!) excuses. How was he so good at lying? How had she been so blind?

"Hawkmoth knows who you are," she said, careful to control her voice into something brave. "It's too dangerous, I'm sorry. Can you tell me which way they went?"

"I don't know, dude," said Nino, looking near tears, "everything is so turned around. The guy's been missing for days. We've been freaking out. I don't get it, where—"

"They went that way," said Alya.

Ladybug took off without waiting for another word, Plagg's black streak already darting ahead.

"Hey," Alya called behind her, "have you seen my friend Marinette?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ladybug hollered back, trying hard not to wince when her earrings gave off their first chime. "Please take cover and stay safe."

"You've got this Ladybug!"

She couldn't get away from them fast enough. Their encouragement felt like weights around her neck.

"Plagg?" she shouted when they were out of earshot of any listeners. This part of Paris felt like a true forest, lush and green. There weren't any buildings left, just winding streets and abandoned vehicles in the middle of a wilderness.

"There!" yelled the kwami. He shot back to Ladybug and scurried to keep himself hidden behind a vine-ridden bus.

Through the far reaching branches, Ladybug could make out the dark tangled vines and branches that made up Evergreen's hair. She had come to a standstill, looking for something, and just beyond her back, Ladybug could see Adrien's hand dangling lifelessly, his miraculous still wound around his finger.

~.*~*~*.~

**Him**

~.*~*~*.~

He was so, so tired.

The forest was suffocating, green reaching in from all angles. It hurt to breathe.

Firelight flickered behind his eyelids and even though he couldn't look, he knew it was her. It was Marinette shivering in his lap, pressing her sharp elbows into his lungs so hard they ached, and he took the pain because it was her.

It was Marinette who giggled over cow puns and bounded out of helicopters without a second thought. It was Marinette holding him tight and telling him, always. Always.

Maybe it was okay to fall asleep like this with her curled into his arms, with her weight in his chest, pressing, pressing. He could hardly breathe around her anyway.

And then he was floating, up, up, and he heard her screaming, her sweet voice hoarse and raw.

His eyes flickered open.

Rain pelted his lashes, blurring everything: the forest, the thick outline of red. Ladybug. He wanted to go, to tell her something, everything, but it hurt so much more to watch her, to try to stay awake.

His eyes slipped shut and that was when he saw his mother.

His mother, reaching to him with her warm hand and warm smile, if he could just find the strength he could reach back. To where she waited, bright and happy, to a time before she had trouble taking a step, before her chest had seized and gasped while she told him, _I'm alright, Adrien, sweetheart, don't worry._

He wanted to yell at her for lying, to fall into her arms and tell her how much he missed her. To feel that warmth and light waiting just beyond his reach.

But he knew, _he knew _Ladybug needed him and, even though his mother was there, an ache swelled deep in his chest and then it bloomed into a hot bubbling fire until he felt nothing at all. 

**~.*~*~*.~  
****Her  
****~.*~*~*.~**

Without thinking, Ladybug shot out her yo-yo. It snapped in a spiral around Evergreen's middle. With a shout of fury, she yanked, hard and the akuma's feet went out from under her.

Adrien spilled from her arms and tumbled to the ground.

He was so pale and lifeless, hair limp and mussed, white tee soaked through and stained with mud and from the side of his lips she saw red.

No. No. No.

While Ladybug was distracted, Evergreen had wrapped her mossy fingers under the yo-yo string and sent vines growing between it and her body. They slithered and snaked and forced the string to expand, letting her slide free.

She immediately heaved Adrien back into her grasp.

"No!" screamed Ladybug, hoarse and raw, "Don't you touch him!"

She retracted her yo-yo and a tree bloomed in her path, shooting nearly five stories tall in an instant.

Ladybug shot out the yo-yo again, using another smaller tree on her right to swing past the one separating them. Her feet touched down on the newly growing tree and she ran horizontally across its bark. She erupted on the other side just in time to see Evergreen turn to face her, Adrien draped over her shoulder.

Vines shot from her fingertips.

Ladybug had to backtrack and dodge, bounding up and down tree limbs and behind abandoned vehicles to avoid them.

Her earrings beeped again.

"Why aren't you asking for my miraculous!?" she screamed.

Did Hawkmoth know? Did he know he had half of what he wanted, waiting on Adrien's lifeless finger? Why was the akuma bothering with him if he didn't?

Evergreen attempted to retreat without answering the question. Pavement turned wild beneath her bare mossy soles as she ran, melting it to dirt and grass.

"Let him go!" Ladybug shouted. She shot out her yo-yo again and let it wrap around a tree. She planted her feet, yanked with all her might and it uprooted, falling in the akuma's path.

Evergreen stopped and turned to Ladybug, lifting the bullhorn to her mouth.

"Hawkmoth ordered me to help him," said the voice of crackling firewood. "Do not interfere."

Ladybug froze. Adrien was right there, dangling loosely over the akuma's arm, his skin much too pale. It took her a minute to pull herself together enough to speak.

"I don't believe you! Since when does Hawkmoth care about other people?"

He knew. He had to.

But why take him? The trouble of dragging his body would only be useful if he was bait for her. Shouldn't the akuma be threatening his life if she didn't turn in her earrings? Why didn't Hawkmoth out Adrien as Chat Noir for all the world to see?

Unless he didn't know...

Her hand tightened around the beads in her fist. Adrien seemed to light up, polka dots filling her vision, but that was it.

And then it clicked.

She took a step forward, closing the distance between them.

"How can you save him?" she shouted. "You've turned the city into a forest! The hospital is gone!" She pointed her finger back in the direction where she was sure it should have been. She wasn't even sure she was right, but if she was…

"If Hawkmoth doesn't want that boy to die, he'll let me defeat you."

Evergreen froze.

"I can cure him," she said, clenching the lucky charm tight.

_Please. Please. Please._

Hawkmoth's aura surrounded the akuma. She whispered something in a quiet voice. Without the bullhorn she sounded human.

All Ladybug could think about was the boy in her arms, lifeless. Why would Hawkmoth even consider it? He was so close to having what he wanted. Why would he care about Adrien when he had ordered Chat Noir battered and broken and changed more times than she could count?

Because he was Adrien… Adrien, who carried her lucky charm wherever he went...

Evergreen slowly lowered him to the earth, setting him down much too gently. His head rolled to the side, cushioned by dirt and grass, rain slick on his pale cheeks.

Then Evergreen held out her bullhorn.

Ladybug didn't even let herself think about it. She snapped her yo-yo around the akumatized object and flung it back into her grasp. It snapped over her knee and the black butterfly flew free.

She purified it in a daze. She didn't notice what happened to Evergreen, if she had changed, if she was wondering what happened. It didn't matter. Ladybug ran to Adrien, searching for breath in his chest. If it was there, she couldn't see it through the rain. She threw the lucky charm into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The ladybugs took over, fluttering over the city in sparkles, little masses of red battling raindrops. The city re-emerged and the green died back and Adrien's middle swarmed with them.

When they disappeared, so had the blood on his lips. Ladybug dropped to her knees by his side.

"Adrien?"

He snapped up like a zombie from the grave, so fast and violent that their foreheads cracked together.

Ladybug winced when he let out a loud cry and she went fairly unaffected, still protected by the suit.

"I'm so sorry," he gasped, rubbing at the forming welt. "I'm such an idiot, I—"

And then he seemed to cut himself off, staring at her in awe, his green eyes wide and so pretty and cat-like and—

"He, he let me win," Ladybug sputtered, rainwater flying off her lips.

"What?"

It seemed to take him a minute to register her words. He slicked back that gorgeous _wet_ blonde hair so he looked more like a model and less like Chat Noir.

Ladybug had to remind herself to breathe.

Adrien looked nearly as dumbstruck as she felt and shook his head, confused. "I don't—"

Her earrings rang, cutting him off. "I go to have, ha! I need you—" His cheeks, which had been so, so pale just minutes ago, went pink. "TO! I need _to_ go! Gah! I don't need _you_. I mean I do, of course I do," she corrected when his expression went flat. "Just not in that way. In platonic ways."

Lies _lies_! She let out a groan and wiped her stupid mouth.

"I have to go," she said pathetically. And she knew, if he had been in costume, that his cat ears would have laid flat at that moment, tail sagging pathetically behind him. But the only thing that gave him away as Adrien was the way his eyes went dull.

_I'm more me when I'm around you._

Rain surrounded them, a heavy shroud between them and the rest of the world, and before she could think it through, she was grabbing him, pulling him close because he was Chat Noir, the boy she loved, and she had almost, he had almost...

The back of his shirt crinkled in her fists and tears built in her eyes when he returned her embrace, his hands somehow burning through her back even though she knew he was freezing.

"Ladybug, I—"

"I'm glad you're okay," she murmured, quickly letting him go before she melted into a puddle of goo.

She sprung to her feet, not daring to look him in the eyes, and flung out her yo-yo.

"Wait." He took hold of her wrist and for a minute all Ladybug could hear was her own heartbeat. "I need to—can we talk somewhere?"

"Later, Kitty," she whispered so she was sure only he could hear. "Go get some rest, okay?"

He gave a nod, cheeks flushing again when she pulled her wrist from his grip.

If she didn't feel so exhausted, she would have burst into a blubbering, stuttering mess. Instead, she shot out her yo-yo, hooking it into a restored street lamp, and took off.

She didn't have time to make it home before her miraculous let out. She barely had time to make it to the next roof over. At the last second, she dodged behind an air conditioning unit and groaned, knowing she'd have to sneak down the fire escape later.

Pressing herself flat against the wall, she peeked over the roof's ledge to the scene below. The rain was so heavy now that she almost didn't catch the sight of Plagg zipping into Adrien's shirt while he tended to Treehugger (Evergreen, whatever that stupid akuma's name was) trying to help her find shelter.

Why was he so wonderful?

"Tikki," she wailed the moment her kwami fluttered into being.

"Oh, Marinette."

"Chat Noir, Adrien's, he's..." Her hand pressed into her mouth, squashing a cry, pushing it down. Her clothes were soaked in seconds and she gave a pathetic hiccup. The heels of her palms pushed into her eyes, shoving back tears.

"I can't love him," she sobbed, remembering Bunnix, remembering Chat Noir saying her name so tenderly because he knew her, he knew _her_, and Paris had drowned at their feet.

"I can't love either of them."

By the time she showed up at the bakery, restored on its proper street corner, it was dark.

Her parents had bawled in joy at her return, thrown her into a warm bath, and showered her with hot chocolate and heating pads while she feebly explained she'd been turned into a bush and didn't even know how long it'd been.

They didn't ask for any more explanation even though the television in her room said nothing about people becoming part of the landscape. The news seemed to be playing on repeat, recapping the breaking story of the _longest lasting akuma attack thus far._

Marinette laid on her stomach on the floor, covered in heaps of blankets, eating chocolate dipped in hot chocolate, trying hard not to look at the last poster of Adrien she had left on her wall.

Tikki was respectfully quiet while she moped, cuddled into the blankets by her side.

It felt weird to be home, like nothing more had passed than an ordinary akuma attack. She couldn't get it out of her head. The lucky charm, the way Hawkmoth had so easily given up when he was so close, Chat Noir (Adrien!) struggling to breathe.

Her phone buzzed just as she felt her eyes droop, udderly (utterly!) exhausted from the lack of sleep.

She almost ignored it, sure it was the millionth text from Alya: _you scared me, girl! what's it like being a bush_? _did you know the akuma tried to kidnap Adrien_? _Nino has been wrecked without his boy._ _I was wrecked about you too, don't worry. So..._ _spill it, were you two secretly hiding out together_?

Half asleep, Marinette brought the screen to her nose and swiped it awake, ready to tell Alya just how _bushed_ she was and to please stop texting her, they could talk at school tomorrow. Then her eyes came into focus.

️**~Adream~ ️**

Her phone fell on the floor and her little squeak drew Tikki's attention over her shoulder.

The funny thing was, she had only renamed Adrien in her contacts after Chat Noir (ADRIEN!) had caught Ladybug staring at one of his billboard ads.

_Ohhhh, _he had teased_, you're one of those A_dream _fangirls._

It had been so funny and accurate, that she had giggled, half out of amusement and half in a dreamy (accurate!) stupor, as she edited his contact in her phone that same evening. She could just imagine the smug look on Chat Noir's face if he ever saw it.

She was going to change it now.

She retrieved her phone from the floor, not quite looking at it.

"It's Adream—ah, Adrien! What do I do?"

"You could start by reading it," said Tikki.

With trembling hands, Marinette turned her phone screen up and swiped it awake.️

**~Adream~** ️

**Hey Marinette!**  
**Alya told me you were turned into a bush for the entire akuma attack. Are you ok?**

No. No. She was not okay.

She could pretend she was sleeping, just wait to see him at school… her heart stuttered. School.

Correction: she could pretend to be asleep for the next hundred years.

"It's ten o'clock, I'm asleep. That's reasonable," she said, sliding her phone away.

"Marinette...we should talk about what happened," said Tikki.

Her head immediately shook, hair still damp from her bath and flinging in her face. She was not ready to face the consequences. Not ready for the rules Tikki was going to lay down. Not ready to be the Guardian.

"I'm sleeping," she mumbled, throwing the blanket over her head.

"I mean about Hawkmoth."

Marinette slowly peeked out from under the blanket. The news continued it's coverage. The last of the battle had escaped the view of any cameras. Between the rain and lack of civilization, it had remained a mystery exactly how Ladybug and Chat Noir had saved the day, but the Parisians were content to have their city back.

It hadn't mentioned Adrien either and Marinette wondered if Alya had been the only one to catch him on camera. She'd already told her she wasn't going to put it on the Ladyblog.

_He looked _dead_, Marinette. If his dad saw that he wouldn't let him out of the house for a year!_

Unless he already knew.

Marinette chewed on her lip. Talking about it made it real and the thought was too terrible. Worse than the first time by far.

"There's a good chance your instincts were right the first time," murmured Tikki.

"Maybe he's a fan!" Marinette said, panic trilling in her voice. "He just couldn't bear to let such an icon die at his hands!" She flopped forward again, burying her face into the floor. "Ugh, it's the only thing that makes sense! The butterflies, the book! Do you really think Hawkmoth akumatized himself to throw us off?"

"You basically did the same thing to throw off Chat Noir."

After a moment of rubbing her eyes, Marinette lifted herself up and felt like she weighed a million pounds.

"Tikki," she said, feeling her whole chest sink with dread. "If Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste, he's _Chat Noir_'s father. How, what do I—"

"That's up to you now, Marinette."

"Help me!" she cried, throwing out her hands.

"You're the guardian. I can't make the decisions for you," said Tikki in a soothing voice, fluttering into her open palms. "I can just be here, no matter what."

Marinette felt her stomach churn. "This is why Chat Blanc happened, isn't it?"

"It would make the most sense," Tikki said, softly.

She collapsed into her blanket pile again, throwing an arm over her eyes while Tikki floated above her.

"He said, he said Hawkmoth found out about us, our love did it…do you think…he loved me as Marinette too?"

Tikki remained silent and it told more than words could.

Tears leaked out of the corners of Marinette's eyes, silent and heavy. "Why doesn't Bunnix just come now and fix this? Or is she going to wait until the world ends again?" She pictured that other version of herself, crumpling to dust beneath her fingers.

"Time is a fragile thing," said Tikki. "One act in the wrong moment has entirely different consequences than the same act in the right one."

"So this is the right one?"

"I wish I could tell you, Marinette. I don't have the power of the rabbit."

"Ugh!" She flipped onto her stomach, burying her head in her arms as tears continued to spill. "I hate this!"

Her phone chirped again. She wiped her eyes with a shaky hand and swiped her phone screen awake.

**~Adream~** ️

**Hope I didn't cat ch you at a bad time. See you in school tomorrow?**

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. She squinted at the line again.

"Omigod Tikki. He punned at me."

Tikki read over her shoulder. "He did?"

"There!" Marinette jabbed a finger into the screen. "He left a space!"

"Maybe it was a typo?"

"And it just happened to spell CAT?" She scrambled to her knees. "Tikki, what if he thinks—what if he _knows_? What do I do?"

"Talk to him."

"But then he _will _know!"

"As Ladybug," said Tikki. "You need to tell him about Hawkmoth as soon as you can. If he really is his father..."

"I know!" Marinette folded over her knees into a big pathetic human ball. Her heart felt like it was literally breaking. "I… I can't Tikki. His father is all he has left."

"He has you."

All the life seemed to fizzle out of her. "Can I at least sleep on this?"

"Of course," said Tikki. "Everything looks brighter after a good night's rest."

But a good night's rest didn't come. In fact, Marinette couldn't even find the energy to make it to bed. There was a gentle rap on her door and when she didn't answer, Tom poked his head through the hatch. She didn't want to alarm him with her blotchy face and croaky voice, so she pretended to be asleep under the mounds of blankets on her floor.

She heard the hatch to her room close. She closed her eyes again, reliving every moment of the battle, of their time alone in the woods, of Gabriel Agreste ripping Chat Noir's ring from his finger, and Adrien, limp in the rain.

She wasn't sure how long it had been when there was another knock. She felt hot bundled in all the blankets and stiff from the days' events. She was about to ask her dad if he could bring her something for her pounding head when he knocked again.

"Dad?" she asked, pulling the covers off her head.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

The sound wasn't coming from her door, but rather the window above her bed. Even with the dark and the rain, she could see the unmistakable shine of a cat's eyes through the glass.

"Tikki!" she hissed, bolting to her feet. In her quick movement, her foot tangled in the blankets and she slammed back into the floor, landing on one knee. She let out a sharp hiss of pain.

"Marinette?" her mom, voice groggy from sleep.

"Tripped," she managed to squeak.

"Okay, be careful. It's the middle of the night, try to get some sleep."

"Okay, Mom! Going to sleep in my bed now, don't need anything else goodnight!"

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

Marinette froze for a long moment. Tikki had made herself scarce, which only could mean... She looked back up and saw a reflection on green.

She scrambled up her ladder, babying the knee she'd slammed, until she made it to her bed. Chat Noir was still staring down at her and the glow of the television below was enough to light up the sheepish smile spread across his lips.

She opened the window and immediately felt the chill of rain and wind blow through her pajamas.

"Hello, purrincess."

Without any hesitation, she grabbed that stupid cat's bell and tugged him in. He landed on all fours on her bedspread and she slammed the window shut behind him.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Sorry, Marinette!" he gasped, cheeks bright red and looking suddenly so sheepish that she couldn't help but see Adrien in him. "I didn't mean to...I just, um, wanted to check to see if you were okay," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, tail twitching anxiously behind him. "Uh, I heard you got turned into a bush?"

She suddenly could not form any coherent words and a weird popping sound came out of her lips while they floundered. She was drowning in air, like a fish. She looked like a weird wordless fish with fish lips.

"Anyway, you're obviously, um, _not_ a bush now," he said, looking more embarrassed with each word. His cat ears went flat. "This is probably pretty weird, huh? I'll uh, cat_-_ch you later, then?" He scrambled back up as quick as he had fallen down, claws working at the latch.

In his frenzied hurry, it kept slipping out of his grip.

It took nearly a minute of watching him struggle before Marinette came to. She reached around his side and slipped the lock out and up, letting the window crack back open.

For another minute, second? hour?! he didn't move, just watched her with those wide, cat eyes. Her heart was in her ears. He was so close. Which had never bothered her before, but now he was Adrien and...her chest was touching his arm.

They both went backwards at the same time.

"Sorry!" he squeaked and then he squeezed through the window, going flat in the middle just like his namesake, his tail following tense behind him.

And that was it. He didn't say anything else and for a second all Marinette could do was sit there, letting the rain soak her bedspread.

Without thinking she bolted to her feet, throwing the window wide. She hung half out, hair flattening with rain and shouted, "Chat Noir!" as loudly as she dared (which meant it was a strangled, half whisper).

But he had already slipped into the dark. She watched for a long time, waiting to see if he'd come back, if he would explain…

"Marinette?" Tikki floated into her vision.

"He knows," Marinette mumbled, "doesn't he?"

"He was definitely acting unusual," Tikki said non-committedly. "What do you think?"

Marinette lowered herself back into her bed, finally feeling the damp chill of winter rain on her skin. "I think…"

She let out a choking sound, a pathetic hiccup of a laugh.

"I think there's a strong possibilitree."


End file.
